


Let Me Make It Up To You

by MissBelcherIfURNasty



Series: La Petit Mort [1]
Category: Bob's Burgers (Cartoon)
Genre: Adult Content, Aged-Up Character(s), Blackmail, Casual Sex, Child Abuse, Consensual Underage Sex, Drug Abuse, Elder abuse, F/M, Jealousy, M/M, Minor Character Death, Stalking, Suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:55:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 14
Words: 48,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23295127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissBelcherIfURNasty/pseuds/MissBelcherIfURNasty
Summary: Sometimes it takes a while for you to see what was in front of you the whole time.At the recommendation of the always awesome BestoJericho, I'm going to start listing Chapters with titles/release dates here as I post them so I don't have to space out the chapters so much :) Thank you for reading! <3 <3 <3~*CHAPTER TITLES/DATES*~Chapter 1:  Inspiration Inhibition, 3-24-20Chapter 2:  Right Where I Need To Be, 4-1-20Chapter 3:  One, two, three, four, fifth time's the charm, 4-4-20Chapter 4:  Truths and Lies, 4-10-20Chapter 5:  Movin' on up, to the beach side, 4-19-20Chapter 6:  Out of sight, out of mind, 4-28-20Chapter 7:  Coming Full Circle, 5-1-20Chapter 8:  'Cause I'm Leaving, On A Jet Plane, 5-4-20Chapter 9:   Revelations, 5-15-20Chapter 10:  At Last, 5-27-20Chapter 11:  Smoking Gun, 6-5-20Chapter 12:  New beginnings or the end of an era?, 6-11-20Chapter 13:  Undisclosed Desires, 6-20-20Chapter 14:  Dancing with myself, 06-23-20Chapter 15: Coming soon!
Relationships: Louise Belcher/Logan Bush, Tammy Larsen/Jocelyn, Tina Belcher/Jimmy Pesto, Tina Belcher/Logan Bush, Tina Belcher/Zeke (Bob's Burgers)
Series: La Petit Mort [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1739284
Comments: 52
Kudos: 58





	1. Inspiration Inhibition

**Author's Note:**

> This is actually my first time writing anything that isn't an academic paper, so feedback is greatly appreciated!

**Chapter 1**

_Inspiration Inhibition_

* * *

"It was lunch time at Wagstaff..."

“No, that's not right...” Tina mutters, rapidly hitting the backspace key on her family's antiquated laptop that became exclusively hers when she began to take advanced writing classes several years prior.

She begins again, "It was Friday, and school had just let out at Wagstaff..."

Her brow furrows, and she slams the screen closed.

“Wagstaff, Wagstaff, Wagstaff! Why can't I just write erotic fiction with characters my own age lately?!” Tina shouts, exasperated, to herself.

She felt like a total creep every time she tried to write her consistently raunchy stories this summer – no matter what she tried, they were always set in her old elementary/middle school, while she herself was about to begin her senior year of high school in a few short weeks.

She tipped her head back in her chair and groans. She needs a new story...a GOOD story for the first day of her dual credit English class, and she has been unable to find inspiration all summer. Week after week she pounded away on the keys of the ancient computer, but nothing came out right. If she had to be perfectly honest with herself, her writing had been total crap for the last few months, and she had an idea why. She begins to open the laptop again, gingerly, hoping it hasn't (finally) been destroyed thanks to her not-so-gentle treatment.

Tina glances at the clock and notices that she is already 20 minutes late for the start of her shift down in the restaurant. Sighing, she closes the laptop again, much gentler this time, and moves to grab some clothes out of a pile on the floor. She performs a quick sniff test to determine if their stench is subtle enough to be overpowered by the odors of grease, fry oil, and whatever the main ingredient of her father's burger of the day is. Cringing slightly at the ripeness of her blouse, she mentally scolds herself, knowing she should have done laundry last night. But her writing is important, dammit! This piece will set the tone for her entire senior year, and it needs to be perfect. Laundry had to wait. With a brisk spritz of some woodsy scented upholstery deodorizer she commandeered from under the kitchen sink, she smooths the wrinkles in her outfit. It would have to do.

Tina hurries down the stairs in anticipation of an embarrassing scolding from her mother, Linda, possibly in the form of a loud, off-key, improvised song performed in her thick Brooklyn accent. While from her father, Bob, who was likely already exhausted after having to handle most of the lunch rush on his own, she would merely receive a gentle tutting along with an exasperated sigh. Linda had a habit of socializing with the customers more than doing her actual job, often leaving their new grill cook to cover the serving aspects of the restaurant instead of assisting Bob in the kitchen as his duties _actually_ entailed.

Exiting the door to their apartment, Tina pauses before making the right turn towards the storefront, deciding instead to try the side entrance through the alley, allowing her to sneak in through the kitchen -- lessening the chance of Teddy, a permanent fixture at their front counter, calling attention to her tardiness or to her less than pleasant smelling clothing, as he almost predictably would.

She darts down the alley to the left of the restaurant, and as she grasps the handle to the door it suddenly swings out, knocking her onto her ass into the garbage that inevitably ends up all over the alley, courtesy of the raccoons Linda feeds and shares her nightly bottle of wine (or two) with.

Tina looks up to see her assailant is none other than the new grill cook, and the bane of her existence, Zeke, arms overladen trash bags.

“Zeke”, she grumbles in irritation.

“Sorry T-bird! I didn't see ya!” Zeke quickly drops the bags and offers a hand to help her up.

Tina pushes his hand aside and heaves herself off the ground, dusting the worst of the debris off.

She scowls up at Zeke.

He was constantly doing things like this; annoying her, being perpetually in the way, or just messing her life up in general.

And he was _always_ sorry.

And he _always_ wanted to make it up to her.

“I'm so sorry, T” he says again. “Let me make it up to you!”

Tina shakes her head in irritation. “No Zeke, I just want to get to work. I'm already late enough as it is.”

She moves to shove past Zeke, in her wish to be away from him, not noticing that Bob was coming through the threshold at the same time.

"Zeke what is taking you so lo..." Bob starts.

_Oof!_

Tina plows face first into her father's portly belly.

"Tina, you really should pay more attention to where you’re going..."

_*sniff sniff*_ Bob's nose scrunches in disgust.

“What's that smell?!” Bob sniffs at Tina, locating the source of the odor. “You smell awful.”

Behind her, Zeke shifts uncomfortably, his cheeks flushing red, reaching to rub the back of neck. “That's my fault, Mr. B. I didn't look before I opened tha door and knocked ‘er down.”

Bob regards his eldest daughter, taking in her soiled clothing, in addition to her pungent aroma, tinted with a hint of… _was that pine?_ He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. “Tina, go change and come back down for your shift.”

Tina groans.

“What is it Tina?” Bob asks, exasperated.

“I don't have any other clean clothes!” Tina protests.

Bob shakes his head. “Well I guess you'll just have to smell then, because Zeke is done with his shift, and Gene and Louise are still visiting your grandparents. I need my grill cook for daddy-daughter time.”

“Fine,” Tina whimpers, starting to move past Bob into the restaurant's kitchen.

“I can take ‘er shift, Mr. B,” Zeke pipes up. “It’s really my fault Tina fell inta the garbage, so I feel like I owe ‘er one.”

“Is that okay with you, Tina? I know you've been saving for college,” asks Bob, raising one bushy eyebrow.

“Yes,” Tina says tentatively. “I need to work on my writing anyway.”

“Okay, but you're going to go right upstairs, clean yourself off and do your laundry” Bob asserts.

"But...” Tina begins to protest.

“No excuses!” Bob shrieks; his voice in a higher pitch.

Tina knows this means he means business, and there is no further use arguing.

“Fine!” Tina shouts, in a rare outburst, and sprints back towards their apartment

entrance.

“T!” Zeke calls after her, “can ya toss some of my shorts in the wash wit yers?!”

…

Tina stomps back up the stairs defiantly. She has more important things to do right now than laundry! Even if _*sniff*_ she reeks like a rotting cantaloupe. And now Zeke wants her to do _HIS_ laundry too? It was bad enough that he had moved in with them and was sharing her brother's room after the _incident_ at his dad's house. Now, Tina never seemed to get a moment's peace from Zeke. He was _ALWAYS_ around. At work, at dinner, even when she was trying to write, he'd often come into her room, peppering her with questions about whatever she was working on. It was so irritating! Just because Jimmy Jr was gone for the summer at a dance camp in New York, and the two youngest Belchers were in Florida, didn't mean it was her job to entertain him.

Tina sighs.

At least with Zeke taking her shift this afternoon she would have the whole apartment to herself to write…and perhaps for other things.

Things she never seemed to have the privacy to do anymore.

Things that always relaxed her.

Things that the lack thereof would probably explain her increased irritability as well as her persistent writing block.

Tina peels her clothes off as soon as she reaches the living room, stopping briefly to collect the hamper in Gene/Zeke's room before retrieving the mountain of laundry from her own. She begins to fill the washer, hoping to fit the massive pile into the tub in one go, as to not monopolize this blessing of solitude. Rare that it was. Finding that she would be unable to fit more than a quarter of the mass into a single load, she unceremoniously plopped the still overflowing basket onto the laundry room floor, slapping the washer's start button much harder than necessary.

_This was going to take all.damn.day._

Frustrated that she would now be spending much of her reprieve working through the impossibly huge wash pile, she then decides to take advantage of the lack of queue for the bathroom with a hot steamy shower. Scrubbing the lingering smells of the alleyway refuse from her skin, she lets her hands wander across her ample breasts, down her taut stomach _(those yoga classes were really paying off she muses to herself),_ slowly extending down between her legs.

_“It has been much too long since I have gotten some release_ ,” she thinks to herself, gasping softly with pleasure as she rubs her most sensitive spot for a brief moment.

Suddenly, remembering she has the whole place to herself and that she can _REALLY_ indulge her urges for once, she stops, quickly hops out of the shower, and hurriedly towels herself off.

Naked and still quite a bit damp, in more ways than one, she dashes back to her room and throws open her closet. Tina quickly takes a cautious glance into the living room to make sure no one else had come upstairs that would catch her in her next act. Finding the place was still empty, she retrieved a black wooden box from the back of her closet’s top shelf, where she had hidden it, in hopes that it was out of her sister’s impossibly long reach.

Tina slowly pulled back the lid to reveal a bright silver thick vibrator, etched with various Japanese characters that she hoped to one day be able to read, as they undoubtedly said something _very_ salacious. She hadn’t dared ask Louise, who spoke and read the language fluently, to translate for fear of giving away the existence her secret toy, as it would assuredly result in her ridicule or blackmail. The ornate shaft had been a special order from Japan, one that had cost her nearly a month's salary and was guaranteed to bring _ANYONE_ to orgasm. It had not failed to deliver yet.

She had named it Sebastian. Because all of her masturbatory objects needed names. _Who could ever forget Jeffery, the pillow she oftentimes did unspeakable things with?_

She knew this is what her writing was missing -- a lack of stimulation. _“A few good orgasms”_ she thought to herself, _“and I’ll be full of inspiration!”_

Tina takes Sebastian over to her bed and reclines back, tossing her heap of pillows, Jeffrey included, onto the floor; they would only be in her way.

She licks her hand to ready herself, rubbing the dampness into her throbbing sex to incite stimulation before slowly sliding Sebastian into her mound. Licking the taste of her arousal off her fingers, she clicks the button on the end of the cylinder and begins to slowly move the apparatus in and out of her trembling mass, playing with her hardened nipples to intensify the sensation. She begins to move her hand faster, moaning and arching her hips in response, fully submersed in the waves of pleasure she was feeling...too preoccupied to notice the front door had opened and someone was coming up the stairs calling her name.

…  
  


Zeke knew he'd done messed up and Tina was _REALLY_ mad at him this time. He always seemed to be markedly clumsy or would inescapably say the wrong thing around her.

_No wonder she was always so sore with him!_

Now he had cost her a full day of work when he knew damn well she was trying to save up for college. He had the worst luck! And right about now he was definitely feeling like the black sheep his father had called him when he threw him out of their trailer a few months prior, as he trudged up the stairs into the apartment.

Zeke’s mind wandered as he slowly climbed the stairs, remembering that he had been in love with Tina ever since they first met, shortly after his family had moved to New Jersey about 5 years ago. Since then, Zeke had tried, and failed, many times to ask her out, much less confess his heart, aside from the few times she assumed he was joking or trying to manipulate her (neither of which couldn’t be further from the truth). He had even tried flirting with her hideously makeup-caked friend-turned-enemy, Tammy, in front of her at one time in an aim to make her jealous enough to notice him. But nothing seemed to work. She only ever seemed to have eyes for Jimmy Pesto Jr, who he affectionately called _J Ju_ , despite the glaringly obvious fact (to everyone but Tina it would seem) that he was pitching for the other team. Zeke knew this personally, but that was a thought for another time.

Now after all the chaos resulting in Tina smelling like a compost pile, culminating in Zeke volunteering to cover her shift, Bob ended up slipping while slicing tomatoes, cutting his finger crotch. As an excessive bleeder, regardless of the size of the wound, Bob would without a doubt need stitches, resulting in the need to shut the greasy spoon down early so Linda could rush Bob to the ER where they would spend the evening waiting to be seen.

Zeke chuckled to himself, recalling the last time Bob had had a similar kitchen accident, and the mischief the kids had gotten into while they were away. Come to think of it, he had nicked himself in the _exact_ same place as last time! He made a mental note to start taking on more of the prep work to save Bob from future Fukinawa-caused mishaps.

Poking his head into the living room, Zeke called Tina's name, in the hopes of ordering an apology pizza and watching a marathon of her favorite show, _Supernatural,_ with her as a peace offering while they waited for her parents to return. He didn't understand what all the fuss was about that show, but they did drive a bad ass car, and some of their fight scenes weren't half bad either. There was also with the subconscious hope he might _ACTUALLY_ be able to tell her how he felt now that there were no parents, attention demanding friends, or nosy siblings around to interrupt.

Not finding Tina in the common area, he began to wander deeper into the dwelling.

He calls her name again.

_“Tina?”_

Still no response, but he could faintly make out an odd muffled noise, and the unmistakably sound of vehement gasping. Fearful that she had somehow hurt herself and was in pain, possibly trapped under that colossal horde of laundry that she had been putting off for far too long, Zeke rushed to her bedroom and threw open the door.

“T--!” He shouts, prepared for the worst...

…Only to find her spread eagle on her bed, furiously rubbing her clitoris while energetically satisfying herself with a rather sumptuous pleasure wand.

…

Becoming aware of his presence, Tina hurriedly sits up in her bed, shaken at the sudden intrusion.

“Zeke! What the hell?!” she screams “Shut the door!”

He immediately complies, however placing himself on the wrong side in his state of shock and surprise. Tina bolts out of bed and darts towards the door, opening it with intention of shoving him out. Zeke’s eyes are wide with fluster, unmistakable lust, and a hint of bemusement. Tina has the door halfway open when she glances down and sees the bulge in Zeke's pants signifying his desire, provoked by what he had witnessed.

An idea forms in her mind.

_"It was Saturday afternoon at Bob's Burgers..."_

A mischievous grin spreads on her face as she slowly shuts the door.


	2. Right Where I Needed To Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A flash back detailing "the incident" mentioned in the first chapter, and how Zeke came to live with the Belchers.
> 
> (The next chapter or two will also likely be flash backs before continuing where I left of in Chapter 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **trigger warning**
> 
> This chapter contains some really rough subjects including drug use, elder abuse, suicide and child/physical abuse. If you are not comfortable with this subject matter, please scroll down to the brief synopsis at the end notes.
> 
> Additionally, I gave names to Zeke's dad and grandmother for this chapter, and opted to use the last name of "Smith" for them that I've seen a lot of others use in their own fanfics.
> 
> This was really a rough chapter to write, so I'm hoping it came out okay.

A few months ago, shortly before the end of the school year, Zeke’s father, Travis, had removed Grandma Nellie from her nursing home after the recommendation that she be moved into hospice. Her Alzheimer’s was steadily progressing, which was already painful enough.

Month after month she seemed to be less of herself.

But then it had gotten worse.

She started developing odd headaches last year that had steadily been increasing.

  
Finally, after much pleading on Zeke’s part, Travis finally relented and took his mother in to see a neurologist, grousing the whole way there how much this was going to cost.

Cost was always his concern.

Cost was the reason why he had put his mother into that roach infested nursing home all those years ago rather than one of the more…comfortable options.

Cost was the reason why he often refused to approve medical expenditures for her until they became critical.

This was going to cost him.

  
Every doctor’s visit, every medication, every meal over the one a day covered in the basic nursing home package that he had selected was less money he got to keep out of her social security checks that he had talked her into signing over to him on one of her off days.  
  


That was HIS money.

He deserved it!

Didn’t he?  
  


He glanced over at his son who sat on the opposite side of his grandmother in the cab of their rundown Ford truck. Lines of worry etched his face as he held a firm, but gentle grip on her hand. It was clear the boy loved his grandmother very much.

_What a pussy._

Finally reaching their destination Travis hopped out of the cab and started making a beeline for the entrance of the medical office, not turning to see if Zeke and his mother followed.

…

Zeke gaped after his father in shock.

He hadn’t even waited to help grandma out of the vehicle!

Shaking his head he opened the door and turned, giving his grandmother a hopeful smile.

“C’mon you gorgeous lady, lets getcha all fixed up!” he said, trying his best to sound chipper.

Her face lit up at the sound of her favorite grandson’s voice. For a moment she was her old self again. Accepting his offered hand, she carefully stepped out of the truck.

Gripping his arm for stability, the pair slowly made their way to the clinic door, through which Travis could be seen glaring at the two of them for their slow pace.

  
…

“What’s the news, doc?”, asked Zeke after Dr. Mills came back into the exam room after taking Nellie off to run some tests.

His face professionally blank, Dr. Mills pulled some MRI slides out of a large envelope and slipped them into clips that were mounted onto the wall. Flipping a nearby switch, a light appeared behind the film.

Dr. Mills turned to the pair of men, the older one looking bored and irritated, the younger concerned and fearful.

“The news isn’t good,” he began “We found that her headaches are being caused by a mass in her temporal lobe.”

He pauses before continuing.

“Unfortunately—”

“How much is THIS going to cost us?!” interrupted Travis.

“Shut the fuck up about money, dad! This is _GRANDMA!_ ” Zeke shouted.

Clearing his throat uncomfortably, Dr. Mills continued, “As I was saying, unfortunately her condition is un-treatable due to the location of the tumor. I am very sorry, but I think it’s time that we discuss final preparations, and how we can keep her comfortable as long as possible.”

“Just how long are we talking, doc?” Travis inquired, completely devoid of empathy.

“Well, she could have anywhere from a few weeks to a few years. I encourage you to start looking into transitioning her from her nursing home into hospice care. I can give you some pamphlets for some wonderful facilities.” He reached into a drawer full of colorful advertisements featuring happy seniors with a few of the orderlies.

“That won’t be necessary. She’s fine where she’s at.” Travis replies firmly, unwilling to increase his monthly expenditures.

“Mr. Smith, she is going to need around the clock care and medication. I urge you to place her in a qualified medical facility” implored Dr. Mills.

At the word medication, Travis’s interest piqued.

“Ya know what doc, I think we’ll just take her home with us.”

_Zeke whirled towards his father, a shocked look on his face. This was not something his father would do. What was he up to?_

A sharp glare from his dad and Zeke knew he’d better keep his mouth shut or he’d be sure to receive more than a few bruises this evening. He was sure he already had that much coming after his earlier outburst. It was bound to be 100 times worse if he pressed his luck.

Looking slightly uncomfortable, the doctor switched the pamphlets for some informational packets and forms.

“In that event, these are the organizations you will need to contact to have the necessary equipment delivered and installed into your home. It will probably take a few weeks. After your mother has settled, we’ll get her on a medication schedule, and one of our technicians will train you on how to change her IV’s and catheters.”

“Thanks doc, I’m sure my mother will be VERY happy being home with her family.” Travis smarmed.

Taking the offered paperwork, he left the exam room, striding purposefully back to his truck, mentally tallying up all the money he was about to save, not to mention the perks of having his heavily medicated mother under his thumb completely.

Life was about to get GOOD.

Watching the older man leave, not pausing for his son, who was gently leading his grandmother from the office, the doctor felt very uneasy about the fate of his patient. But a feeling wasn’t enough to contact adult protective services. Her grandson appeared to care for the elderly woman very much though. He only hoped that was enough.

…

Grandma had been living at the Smith trailer for about a month and things were going surprisingly okay.

His dad was attentive and careful when changing out her IV medications, or when she needed a new catheter bag, or when helping her get to the restroom. He even gave her sponge baths!

Maybe he was worried over nothing.

This day in particular Zeke was excited for what he had planned. Since they didn’t know how much longer she would be with them, he was determined to check every item off the bucket list he had helped her write after her diagnosis.

Today they were getting tattoos together.

Holding the door for her as she made her way into the tattoo parlor, her eyes grew wide at all the designs the artist had pasted on every free inch of wall space.

While she busied herself scrutinizing each design, trying to decide just what she wanted, Zeke pulled the artist aside to show him the design for his own tattoo he had sketched out himself a few days prior.

He wanted it to be a surprise.

Grandma went first, Zeke holding her hand as she had a Camellia, the flower of her home state, Alabama, tattooed on her shoulder. She beamed afterwards, admiring the craftsmanship of the finished piece, and shuffled over to a soft-looking over-sized chair next to the sunny front window to nap while Zeke got his own ink done.

A few hours later Zeke gentle shook his beloved grandmother awake to show her what he had chosen.

Tears glistened in her eyes as she enveloped him into a warm hug.

On the bicep of his muscular right arm he had gotten a tribal design with her name, Nellie, in the center. He had also hidden a few discrete horses in, as a tribute to the other woman who had his heart.

But today wasn’t about her.

It was about his Grandma Nellie and making _every_ day her best day.

…

Not even two weeks after their tattoo excursion, Nellie took a turn for the worse. Her headaches intensified, and she was soon unable to leave her bed.

Zeke didn’t understand.

His dad had been giving her all her meds, and she had been doing so well!

_So what had changed?_

One afternoon while she napped, Zeke set out to find exactly that. He started at the bin where her IV pain relievers were being kept. Picking one up, it looked a little off. The color of her medication didn’t seem quite right. Further inspecting the bag, he found a piece of tape near the seal at the top.

Zeke paled.

“No” he whispered “This can’t be right.”

He took the bag over to the sink and carefully removed the tape. Tipping the pack over to release a few drops of the liquid into his hand.

He took a few tentative sniffs. Not detecting an odor, he tasted the fluid.

Nothing.

No weird medicine taste, nothing.

The fluid had been replaced with water.

Dropping the tampered bag into the sink he next moved over to the cabinet where the pills were being kept. He checked bottle after bottle.

_Tic tacs._

_Smarties._

_Were these Good n’ plentys?!_

Every. Single. Pill.

Every pill had been replaced with candy. 

And Zeke had an idea who did it, but he needed to be sure.

…

Zeke hid in the shadows of the hall, surveilling as his father stumbled into the house after his post-work bar binge.

Travis made a beeline for the IV medication bin, making a quick scan of the room checking to see if anyone was looking, before rummaging into the bottom of the carton for what Zeke assumed was an untampered bag.

Peering around again, he retrieved a syringe from their stash of medical supplies and strode hastily towards his bedroom with his pilfered haul.

After he was sure his father was not coming back out Zeke finally allowed himself to feel the grief that had been building since that afternoon.

He fell back against the wall, slowly sliding to the floor, where he sat, head in his hands, silently sobbing.

He had no idea how long she had been dealing with the pain on her own without her meds, but he suspected it had been not long after she had been moved in. She likely had been hiding her agony as not to worry him further.

He had to get her away from his father.

He had to her her out of here.

But how?

…

After a fitful sleepless night Zeke needed some air.

Checking briefly on his grandmother and finding her still asleep, and his father passed out, he slipped quietly out the door.

Looking at his feet, not where he was going, Zeke just started walking, with no particular destination in mind.

_He had to get her out of there. She deserved better than that!_

Wracking his brain it came to him.

_He would get his own place!_

He turned 18 in a few weeks, and it would be hard, but with a part time job, coupled with Grandma Nellie's Social Security checks, they just might be able to afford a small one-bedroom apartment.

Grandma could take the bedroom of course, and Zeke would make a bed for himself on the couch every night.

_It was perfect!_

Now where to start looking for a job…

Stopping where he was, he looked up and found he had wandered down to Ocean Avenue.

Not far ahead he saw two opportunities.

Jimmy Pesto's Pizzeria was to the left, and Bob's Burgers to the right.

He knew exactly where he was meant to be and headed up the street.

…

The bell over the door to Bob's Burgers jingled merrily as the brawny young man entered.

Linda looked up from wiping the counter, her eyes widened, a huge smile forming on her face as she recognized him.

"Zeke! Oh my gawd! Look at you, all grown up!" she squealed, coming around the counter to give him a big hug.

"And so handsome too! I bet you have to beat the girls off with a stick! Ha ha"

Zeke's face turned bright red and he began to stammer that he really wasn't handsome.

But he was.

Over the last 5 years he had had several growth spurts, and had signed up for weight training, giving him a well-toned physique, and a reputation at Huxley high as a beefcake, turning the head over every young lady, just not the one he wanted. At almost 18, he now resembled a rustic Mario Lopez.

"So, what brings you in? Would you like a burgah? Maybe some fries?" asked Linda in her thick Brooklyn accent.

"Actually Mrs. B, I was wondering if Mr. B might be looking for a grill cook? I need a part-time job."

"Hmm...I dunno sweetie, Mr. Belcher usually only lets Tina on the grill."

"Tina?" Zeke perked up hearing his crush's name, "Is she...is she here?"

"No, she's out in Bog Harbor for a few weeks working as a counselor for the horse camp. She'll be sad she missed you though!"

Zeke wasn't sure that was true.

Tina mostly seemed to tolerate him, but never seemed excited to see him.

_Well, aside from that one time at that party when…_

Suddenly Zeke realized that Linda had been talking to him while he was lost in thought.

"I'm sorry Mrs. B, could you repeat that?"

"I was just saying you may has well wait for Bobby to come back from the market and we can talk to him about a job for you. It’s hard to predict what that man will say sometimes."

Linda moved back behind the counter and poured a cup of coffee for each of them.

Zeke took a seat on one of the well-worn, but still comfortable counter stools, giving it a quick spin before he stopped, facing the kind woman who he often wished was his own mother.

"Now Zeke, let me get a better look at this tattoo you've got here," Linda inquired, trying to make conversation. "Who's this Nellie person?"

"Oh! Yeah!" He turned so Linda could view it better "My grandma and I got tattoos as part of her bucket list. I got her name as part of mine"

"Aww! That is so sweet! And I love the design, did you draw this?"

"Sure did"

"You did a great job." Linda closely examines the details "Are these _horses_?"

Zeke reddens again, flustered that she found his secret tribute to her eldest daughter.

She gave him a knowing wink.

Before she can grill him further, Bob comes bustling through the door, arms laden with fresh produce, Gene and Louise trailing not far behind.

"Zeke!" Bob shouts excitedly, nearly dropping his purchases.

"He's here asking about a job, Bobby" Linda interjects.

" _Yes!_ That would be amazing! With my burgers and your perfect palate, we can finally show that stupid _Jimmy Pesto_ " Bob shrieks, his voice becoming alarmingly high pitched.

Zeke allows himself a brief chuckle.

"Thanks Mr. B, when can I start?"

"How about now?"

…

Over the next week Bob and Zeke fell into a comfortable work routine, and the burgers had never been better.

The customers began to notice too, and business picked up. So much so, that Bob was soon needing his grill cook to be at the restaurant nearly every day, so he made the offer to bring him on full-time, including giving him a small raise that they could now afford.

This posed a problem for Zeke.

He hadn't told his dad about the employment, for fear his increased absence might make him wary and suspicious, or that he might just flat out take his paychecks to feed his habits and to prevent Zeke and his grandmother from escaping. Also, while working full-time during the summer would help him get into an apartment faster, it also meant leaving his grandmother home alone all day, where he wouldn't be able to make sure she actually received her meds.

Regardless of his apprehensions, he had talked it over with her after work the day it was offered, and she encouraged him to accept. Zeke hesitantly agreed, and they decided he would leave her medication within reach and set alarms for her so she could take them herself. 

That was the plan.

And it went well for a whole week.

Until everything went to shit.

…

Tina was dead tired. After only two weeks of working at the horse camp she was sore in places she didn’t think possible. And now that it was all over, all she really wanted was a soak in the tub, a long nap, and one of her father's delicious signature burgers.

She leaned back in the passenger seat of her family's station wagon when her father picked her up after her last day, zoning out as he chattered about this and that, all the things she had missed while she was gone.

She did find it odd that Bob had picked her up instead of her mother, as it was during the dinner rush, or rather what would normally be a rush for other restaurants, but usually consisted of Mort, Teddy, and the occasional additional customer or two in their own. 

_Maybe things had been super slow and they had closed early?_

She felt a pang of guilt.

Here she had been enjoying the past few weeks, while they had been left struggling. She hoped her returning to work would be a help to them for the remainder of her summer break.

They pulled up alongside the building, and Tina was shocked to see the restaurant packed.

_What was going on?_

She entered the building, her father dawdling behind.

Gene and Louise were carrying plates to customers, while Linda danced around the throngs of customers, taking orders.

_Wait...if Gene, Louise, and Mom were out here, then who was…_

"Order up, Gene!" A handsome, well-built young man tapped the bell on the window ledge and leaned out to pass her brother a plate.

“Zeke?!” Tina squawked.

Hearing his name, Zeke looked up and grinned. "Hey T-bird! How was camp?"

Tina whirled on her father "You hired Zeke!? Zeke?! Dad! How could you?!"

Bob began to stammer.

Zeke came out of the kitchen to rescue Bob.

"C'mon T, I'm due for a break. We should go catch up." Zeke pulled her gently by arm back out of the door.

Bob sighed in relief at the de-escalation of the brewing argument.

Zeke led Tina around to the alley. She yanked her arm away and glared at him. "What are you doing here?!"

He paused a moment to take her in.

It had only been a month since he had last seen her- when school had let out at the end of their junior year- but she had changed. She no longer wore her signature thick glasses, but appeared to have replaced them with contacts, lending to a better view of her Cognac-brown eyes, framed in naturally thick black lashes. She had also taken to wearing her now long raven hair in a loose braid tossed over her shoulder, instead the tight bun she had been sporting the last several years. Tina had also put on some muscle tone from working at the camp, and developed an extremely attractive hourglass figure over the last few years, accentuating her long, graceful legs.

Even before all these changes, she had always been beautiful to him, but now she was achingly so.

"Well?" She asked, snapping him back to the present.

"Truth T?"

"Uh, yeah" she said impatiently, crossing her arms over her ample chest.

He sighed, plopping down on a pile of wood pallets sitting next to the building, patting the spot next to him for Tina to join him.

"It's for my grandma."

"You mean the one you stole the Wagstaff Whaler costume for?"

"Borrowed. And yes. She's not doing so hot. She has an inoperable brain tumor, and…"

Zeke found himself spilling everything, from his grandma's diagnosis, to his father bringing her to live with them instead of putting her in hospice, the bucket list (glossing over his special addition to his tattoo), his discovery of the medication theft and substitution, and finally, his plan to escape with her.

Spent, he broke down sobbing.

Without hesitation Tina pulled him into her arms. He buried his face into her chest while she held him, allowing him to let it all go.

Normally Tina couldn't stand the guy for some reason, but right now, she couldn't help herself.

He needed someone, and right now that someone was her.

She gently stroked his thick wavy hair as he wept.

He kind of smelled like onions.

It was nice.

This small act of comfort seemed to help calm him, and after what seemed like an hour, but was really only a few minutes, he pulled away, wiping the last of his tears with the corner of his apron.

"Could you keep this between us T-bird?"

"Sure Zeke. Now let’s get back inside before they think we're up to something out here."

Zeke's face turned bright red.

Slightly puzzled at his reaction, she led the way back inside.

…

Zeke was feeling great when he walked home from work that day.

He now had a full-time job, Tina was back, more beautiful than ever, _AND_ she even held him during his uncharacteristic break down. Wait until he told his grandma! She'd be so happy for him!

Rounding the corner to the trailer park, Zeke came to a dead stop.

_No._

_NO. NO. NO!_

Red and blue lights flashed.

There was a police car as well as an ambulance parked in front of the trailer.

As he approached a body bag was wheeled out.

Travis stood in the doorway giving a statement to Officer Julia. He noticed Zeke carefully approaching them, trembling. Feeling his internal rage starting to build, he told the officer he would meet them down at the hospital shortly to finish his statement.

He jerked his head towards the inside of the house indicating for Zeke to go inside.

The burly man stood in the doorway until the ambulance and squad car were pulling away, then quickly slammed the door, closing off the trailer park from what was about to happen next.

Before Zeke knew what was happening, he felt his father's fist connect with his cheek.

**Hard.**

"Where the fuck _were_ you?!" He screamed in his face before punching his son again, this time in the gut causing him to bowl over in pain.

"Where?!" Travis kept screaming between punches and kicks.

He paused for a second, clenching his fists, waiting for the next moment to strike.

Zeke spat some blood out of his mouth, "I was at work."

"Who the fuck gave you permission to get a job out of the house?" Travis challenged him. "Your _job_ is what I tell you it is"

_*punch*_

"Your _job_ was watching your grandma so I didn't have to pay for fucking hospice"

*kick*

"Now thanks to _you_ , I don't get her checks anymore"

Zeke's father slams him to the ground, continuing to kick Zeke whenever he found an opening, screaming at him, "And how the fuck am I supposed to get more of those pills?! They took _everything_ when they took her away. It's _your_ fucking fault she took her meds today and OD'd"

He grabbed Zeke by the hair so they were face to face and spit, the saliva dripping down his son’s battered face. " _You_ are the fucking black sheep of this family and I should have made your mom have an abortion when I knocked her up all those years ago. I knew a girl her age wouldn't give me nothing but shit. And shit you are."

Travis dropped his head on the floor, and spat on him one last time.

As he turned to leave, he snarled over his shoulder, “You’d better be fucking gone by the time I get back, or you'll get much worse. And don’t even think of calling the cops, or I’ll fucking kill you. And _NOBODY_ will find your stinking corpse.”

As soon as Zeke heard the truck peel out of the gravel driveway he hurried into his room and began frantically throwing everything he owned into a few duffle bags.

After packing his own things, he crept into his Grandma Nellie's room one last time, retrieving the picture of the two of them she kept in a frame on her bedside table. Hesitating for a moment, he then reached between her mattress and box springs, pulling out a small lock box, containing a few precious items. Nerves frayed, he opened it up making sure it was still in there. He breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of a small velvet box among the collection of photographs and letters, slowly opening the worn box to make absolutely sure his father hadn’t pilfered it, but thankfully it was still there..his grandma's engagement ring.

...

A few weeks back when Zeke had gotten his job at Bob's Burgers he mentioned the Belcher kids to his grandmother. Gene, Louise…and Tina.

"Tina, isn't that the awkward little gal with glasses you had a crush on?" Nellie had asked, giving him a wide toothless grin.

"Ha ha. Yeah, that’s her.” Zeke pulled his phone out and pulls up a picture off Facebook to show her. "This is her now"

Grandma whistled, "She sure did grow up to be purty."

"Sure is. Beautiful and smart as a whip."

Zeke smiled to himself for a bit before his grandma put her hand over his.

"You love her, don't you?"

"Yeah, but she doesn't feel the same"

She studied his face for a moment.

"My boy, bring me that lock box from my bottom dresser drawer"

Puzzled, he complied.

She pressed in a combination and opened it to reveal a collection of photos of her and his grandfather, some love letters grandpa had written her, and a small velvet box, which she handed it to him.

“I want you to have this.”

Zeke opened the box to find a beautiful diamond engagement ring.

"But grandma I can't take this…" he began to protest.

"Yes, you can. This is the ring your grandpa gave me back when we were your age, and when the time is right, I want you to give it to her. Yer gonna get her one day. And yer gonna have the most beautiful wedding and the most beautiful babies with her. You do that for me, Zeke.”  
  
“I will, grandma” he choked.

She took the ring box from his hands and put it back into the lock box.

"But for now, it will be in here. I don't want to chance your father finding it. or he'll pawn it like he did the rest of my stuff, and I know he's been looking. Find a good spot to hide it where he'd never think to look.”  
  


…  
  


Pulling himself back to the present, Zeke noticed a folded piece of paper that hadn’t been in the box before. He froze, realizing what it was. He wasn’t ready to read it yet. It could wait for another day.  
  
Placing everything back inside, he tucked the box and photograph into his duffle, slipping out the door into the pitch black night.

Looking up at the stars he was barely able to see through his rapidly swelling eyes, he imagined his grandmother looking down on him.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you grandma. I love you."

And with that he headed to the one place he knew he'd be safe.

…

Tina sat at her desk, scribbling into her journal. It had been a while since she had written, the horse camp not affording her much opportunity to write at the end of each day. She wrote about her short position at the camp, the partial scholarship for college she had earned as a result, and mostly about how she came home to find _he_ had wormed his way into her family's restaurant.

She didn't know why she felt her hair stand on end whenever he was around, or why she was so aggressively mean to him.

It really wasn’t like her.

She felt that wall break down a bit earlier when she had held him as he cried.

It was kind of nice.

Not him crying, or the reason for the crying, but holding and comforting him felt kinda nice.

_*chink*_

_Aah!_

Tina sat upright, startled.

Then it happened again. Twice this time.

_*chink chink*_

_Was someone throwing rocks at her window?_

She opened it up and leaned out.

“Psst! T-bird! Down here!” Zeke whispered.

She looked down. His face looked…odd…in the shadows of the alley.

"Zeke what are you--"

"T! Can I come up? Please. I'll tell ya everything."

Sighing exasperatingly, she lowered her emergency ladder.

She noticed Zeke tuck some things behind the pallet pile before climbing up.

As soon as he climbed inside the window she inhaled sharply, her hand going to her mouth to stifle a gasp.

Someone had beaten the crap out of him.

He was developing not one but two black eyes, in addition to the numerous cuts, bruises, and a split lip.

“Who did this to you?” she asked, reaching up to touch his face.

“My dad.” Zeke gently caught her hand before it met his tender skin “I got home, and grandma…she's dead. And It’s all my fault.”

He buried his head in his hands and started to weep softly.

“Oh god, T. She's gone. She's really gone. And I wasn't there for her.”

Tina stayed silent, not sure what words could best assuage his guilt.

“And after this” he gestured towards his injuries and torn clothing, “He told me to get out and if I ever went to the cops he'd kill me.”

“I'm sorry Tina. I just didn't know where else to go.”

Tina waited for a moment, as if contemplating something, then turned around and left the room, returning with her parents shortly.

Bob sat down on Tina's bed next to him and had him retell his story, Linda standing at the door with Tina, mumbling nonsensical curses under her breath.

Bob waited for Zeke to finished, then calmly asked, “What are you going to do now?”  
  
“I- I don’t know Mr. B. I don’t know where my mom’s at, last I heard she was shacked up with some biker gang in Tulsa, and my cousin Leslie is still in prison for that whole counterfeiting thing. I guess I should go to the shelter.” Zeke stammered.

Linda finally spoke up.

“No.”

Everyone turned to look at her. Linda rarely was firm, but when she was, you listened.

“No Zeke, you’re going to stay here.”

Bob nodded in agreement, as if the decision had been discussed at length already.

Linda continued, “I don’t want Gene and Louise to hear about this just yet, you know how worked up they get. You’ll stay in Tina’s room tonight, and then we’ll move you into Gene’s room tomorrow. I’m going to call my parents to see if they can take the kids for the rest of the summer until things calm down.”  
  
Zeke stared at this woman he cared so much for, relief and gratefulness in his eyes.

Bob and Linda slipped out of the room, telling Zeke to get take a shower while she made the arrangements, before waking the Gene and Louise up.

…

Zeke watched as the steaming water ran down his body, tinted pink from all the blood washing off.

His father had really done a number on him this time.

Not wanting the noise to disturb the ever-vigilant Louise, he finished up, and wrapped a towel around his waist, before creeping back to Tina’s room, the sounds of Linda whispering to her mother on the phone in the living room could be heard as he passed.

Opening the door, he found Tina sitting on her bed wearing a soft-looking loose tank and shorts sleep set, her long bare legs tucked underneath her, a first aid kit in her lap.

It took all the will he had left to fight the arousal he felt starting to build in his loins.

…

Tina looked up as her door creaked open.

Her eyes widened at the sight of the thickly muscled young man entering, clad only in a towel, loose around his hips.

She felt a heat between her legs.

_Not now!_ She told herself

“Dad brought up your things from the alley,” she said, gesturing at the duffle bags in the corner.

“You can take the bed tonight, I set up a sleeping bag for myself on the floor.”  
  
Zeke moved to grab something to wear out of his bag.

“Before you change, sit down and let me take care of those cuts,” she said, holding up the box she had been clutching.

Zeke sat down next to her and studied her as she tenderly touched peroxide to each scrape and cut on his chest, arms, and stomach.

She was so gentle.

“She would make a wonderful nurse,” he mused, remembering how she would occasionally assist with first aide at their school.  
  
She laughed softly, startling him, as he realized he had said that out loud.

“I used to volunteer as a Candy Striper at the hospital, remember?” she said, smiling softly as she dabbed at the wounds on his face.

He so desperately wanted to kiss her right now.

But before he could really entertain the thought, Tina pulled away, her work finished.  
  
“You’ll probably be really sore in the morning, so take the aspirin I left out for you on the night stand before you go to bed.”  
  
“Will do, T.”  
  
Zeke stood, heading to his bags to retrieve the pajama pants, dropping his towel to pull them on.

Tina turned to give him some privacy, but not before sneaking a peak.

_Damn. How did I not notice that butt before?_ Tina thought to herself as she faced away from him.

She heard her bed creak slightly as Zeke slipped beneath the covers.

Tina turned off the light, then crawled into her makeshift bed on the floor, preparing to settle in for the night.  
  
“T?” Zeke whispered down to her.  
  
“Yes Zeke?”  
  
“Could you…could you sleep up here tonight? I just don’t want to be alone right now,”  
  
“Sure Zeke, scoot over.”  
  
Zeke moved to make room for her.

Tina draped her arm over him and leaned her cheek against the back of his shoulder.  
  
“Good night, Zeke” Tina said, sleepily.  
  
“Good night Tina” Zeke replied, placing his hand over hers.  
  
It took the most unimaginable horror in his life, but he was right where he needed to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary:
> 
> Zeke's grandmother is found to have a tumor, and Zeke's father brings her to live with them, instead of putting her in hospice. He steals her meds, and Zeke gets a job at Bob's Burgers to save up money to move out with her. Zeke reunited with Tina, has a tender moment, only to find that his grandmother has committed suicide in his absence. His dad beats the crap out of him, and Zeke moves in with the Belchers.
> 
> If you are enjoying this story line so far, or have some suggestions or criticisms, please drop me a note and let me know!


	3. One, two, three, four, fifth time's the charm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flash backs of Tina's conquests, one of Louise's, and one for Zeke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the beginning and end of this chapter pick-up from Chapter 1, and sandwiched between are some varied Tina tales. Enjoy!

** One, Two, Three, Four, Fifth time’s the charm **

Within a week of Zeke moving into the Belcher residence things between him and Tina returned to normal. She was short spoken and irritated with him, but he kept pressing on, hoping one day she might be willing to give him a chance.  
  


Which is why he was surprised to walk in on her in the middle of a vigorous masturbatory session – and especially surprised when she had closed her bedroom door...with him inside.

Looking down at her voluptuous form, he felt himself becoming aroused. He had seen her naked before.

Well mostly.

But that was almost a year ago, and she had blossomed even more since then.

His eyes trailed down from her full perky breasts, down her flat stomach.

_Those yoga classes she had been taking were really paying off_

Down to the dark patch between her legs.

She liked to keep it natural.

For some reason that turned him on even more.

Tina closed the door with a wide grin, then asked "Do you still want to make it up to me?"

"W-wut" Zeke stammered.

"Do you still want to make it up to me" she repeated.

Blinking for a moment, he finally got her meaning, gripped her shoulders, and shoved her against the door, lips crashing down on hers.

Hard.

Their tongues intertwined as she wrapped her fingers in his thick dark hair, pulling slightly.

Zeke explored her body with his hands…with his mouth…  
  
Eliciting loud cries of pleasure from Tina with each new discovery.

Everything got a little fuzzy after that point.

…

Zeke collapsed on top of Tina, the both of them out of breath and sticky with sweat.

After a few moments Tina caught her breath, and all she could say was

_WOW._

Zeke pulled her to his chest, his mouth finding hers again, pressing a large hand to the small over her back.

Tina moaned against his mouth, rousing him again.

Suddenly they heard Linda's voice calling up the stairs for them, "Zeke! Tina! Could you two give me a hand getting Bobby upstairs? He keeps passing out"

Hurriedly they located and threw on their clothes so Linda wouldn't find out what had happened.

Tina started to open the door when Zeke pulled her back for a moment, kissing her passionately, possessively, marking her as his.

_“Tina! Zeke! Hurry it up!”_ Linda bellowed, becoming impatient.

Simultaneously groaning at the interruption, they broke apart.

“Later, after they’re asleep” Zeke whispered into her ear huskily, promising to pick up where they left off.

Tina kissed him on the cheek with a smile before departing to assist her struggling mother.

…

Sex was not really a taboo subject in their home.

Bob and Linda were far from the quietest people when it came to their scheduled Sunday sex nights, especially that one time they stumbled home wasted from a date night, a familiar looking butcher in tow for a spontaneous three way.

That had been a sleepless night for the entire household. They were _loud_.

Gene had a habit of never shutting his door when it came to his sexual escapades. Courtney, Alex, and even one time a manatee puppet with a Marilyn Monroe wig that was mysteriously missing an eye...nothing would shock them about Gene's inclinations after that one.

Even Louise wasn't exempt.

When Louise was just 12, Tina had caught her in a bit of a compromising position with BOTH Pesto twins, because where one went, the other had to follow, and journeying into the center of Louise was no exception.

Tina remembered when she had passed by her sister's diminutive room only to see her perched on the edge of her bed in a Pesto sandwich.

Louise was making out with one, Andy, Tina thought, when the other twin had reached up to fondle one of Louise's small breasts, only to be met with a discouraging slap that Tina had gotten a good laugh about later.

Yep, everyone was pretty open about their sex life in the Belcher household...except Tina.

…

It had started with an out of town debate team event her Freshman year at Huxley High. The team spent several nights in a rather posh hotel in New Hampshire, and as the only female on the team, Tina was granted the luxury of her own hotel room.

But not just a room...the hosts had sprung for a whole _suite_.

She even had a jacuzzi!

Naturally, her teammates wanted to practice in her spacious quarters, the jacuzzi being a huge bonus, despite the fact no one had brought swimwear.

A debate was held between the club members, and Sasha, who had transferred to their school shortly the start of term, after being expelled from his private school on King’s Head Island, triumphed with his suggestion for everyone to skinny dip. Not that it was a hard sell.

After all, nudity was the natural state of humans, and the best way to enjoy a hot tub.

The boys courteously averted their eyes as Tina undressed first and entered the steaming tub. She then covered her eyes as they did the same.

Uncovering her eyes she glanced around the group of boys with her in the hot tub.

_"Boy, there sure are a lot of carrots in this stew"_ she thought to herself.

Passing around a few bottles of Boone's Farm someone had snuck in, the team practiced their debates well into the night, each member gradually exiting the tub, their nudity forgotten as they all became more comfortable with each other, and as the effects of the cheap wine took hold.

Soon it was just Sasha, Tina, and Henry Haber left.

Henry suggested one final debate between the them, as he sipped on a glass of scotch pilfered from the mini bar.

Feeling bold he began his opening statements...on how Tina should sleep with one of them that night.

Sasha, especially inebriated, forgetting the fact that he was _definitely_ not into girls, argued that they should have a three-way, caressing Tina's breasts as he argued.

Tina knew he was gay, but also knew his lines blurred on occasion, especially when drunk, and to be honest, she would rather lose her virginity to a homosexual man than Henry Haber any day.

She sat back in the jacuzzi, enjoying the nice buzz she had going, the jet aimed at her back, and the surprisingly skillful fondling she was getting from Sasha. To her disappointment, Henry won.

Henry had had no experience with sex or anything close to it, so he was not particularly adept at foreplay.

He laid down immediately on top of her and attempted to finger her as if simply moving his fingers in and out of her was arousing. She kept still as Henry did his thing, which lasted all of a few seconds and consisted of about a dozen inexperienced thrusts before he came.

Taking pity on the boy, who would likely not experience sex again until college, Tina faked an orgasm.

Haber could use the boost to his ego.

He left awkwardly shortly after he was finished, giving her a kiss on the cheek and thanking her for a lovely time.

Tina jumped into a steaming shower to scrub the feeling of him off her skin. While she would have rather lost her virginity to someone she loved, she was also glad the awkwardness was over and done with. She hoped her next time would yield HER some pleasure.

At 15 Tina had hooked up with Josh, the ballet dancer she had met years ago at Fresh Feed. While an attentive lover, she felt no sexual chemistry with him. The experience wasn’t even interesting enough to make it into her diary.

Fall of her junior year of high school yielded her first wild encounter.

Logan Barry Bush.

It had happened at a party at Rutgers when Tina had gone up for a weekend with Tammy, Jocelyn, Jimmy Junior, and Zeke to visit the university as part of an excursion arranged by their college prep course. They had all gone on a group tour that morning, then were let off to explore the university and experience college life. Essentially to go hit up a few fraternity ragers and get obscenely drunk.

…

His phone pinged with a message notification.

He was willing to bet it was her. Again.

Punching in his password he found his suspicions to be correct.

Another message from Louise, along with another nude photo.

_How did she even get a picture at that angle?!_

She had begun sending him extremely suggestive messages after the encounter they had in the closet at a party a few months back.

…

He wasn’t even sure why she was at a party like that!

He had been hitting the beers pretty heavy after having to put up with Cynthia’s typical bullshit earlier that day, and damn, out of all the drunk slutty girls available, Louise looked much more mature and pretty fucking hot in those impossibly tiny shorts and combat boots, which showcased her long slender legs.

She looked more like 18 than 13. She was nearly 6 feet tall now, towering over both of her older siblings, built like a willowy runway model.

At least that’s what he told himself before approaching her.

“Hey _four_ ears” he taunted her from behind.

Louise whipped around, but instead of glaring at him as usual, she gifted him with a toothy grin.

“Bush! Long time no see! How’s it hanging?”

“Why don’t you have a feel and find out for yourself?” he challenged.

_Never in a million years did he think she would do anything but slap him across the face for that one._

But to his surprise she said, “I thought you’d never ask” and dragged him into a closet when no one was looking.

They made out, sloppily, and fondled each other clumsily. Both clearly having had their fair share of alcohol.

Logan felt Louise begin to slide down his body, unzipping his pants, and taking him into her mouth.

_Holy fuck!_ _Who knew little four ears could give such great head?_

She sucked him off to completion, then sauntered out of the closet.

“See ya later, Bush!” she called over her shoulder, leaving him dumbstruck, pants around his ankles.

The next morning, he awoke in his bed with a terrible hangover.

_Had he imagined the whole thing?_

No way had he gotten a beej from Louise freaking Belcher.

Who, he reminded himself, was a fucking _minor_ , and he was almost 20 _._ Way too old to be messing around with girls her age.

Logan groaned, hoping he had hooked up with someone else in his drunken state, mistaking them for her.

His phone pinged.

He checked the message to find it was from an unknown number: _Had fun last night._

_Who’s this?_ he replied.

A picture message came through.

_Fuck._

It was a topless selfie of Louise with the caption “Your ass is mine, Bush”.

_Fuck!_

Now not only had he hooked up with a fucking _13 year old,_ he now had what amounted to kiddie porn on his phone.

Giving the picture one last good look, he deleted the messages and photo to destroy the evidence.

No one had seen them hook up.

No one knew but the two of them.

There was a good chance he wouldn’t get into any trouble over it, but only if she kept it to herself.

But that wasn’t Louise. She had to torment him with the knowledge that she could rat him out at any time, and with the fact that he had LIKED what had happened.

Damn her.

…

The party at his fraternity was in full swing. It was visiting week for high school juniors and seniors, so naturally, they were hosting.

All around the frat house drunk teenage girls were playing party games and getting hit on by his frat brothers. Many of them would likely be getting some ass tonight.

But not Logan.

He was too wound up from the video Louise had send him a half hour ago of her playing with herself.

_He couldn’t let her get away with this._

_But how was he going to get even without exposing himself?_

Coming upon a game of flip cup, he noticed a smoking hot petite girl with long raven hair and glasses. She was wearing tight low-rise jeans that showcased her ass, and a thin strapped, low-cut tank, that made it painfully obvious she wasn’t wearing a bra.

_Here_ was his revenge. Tina Belcher.

Logan put on his most charming smile and brought two shots of tequila over to her after the game ended.

“Tina! How are you, girl?” he greeted her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

He noticed a thickly muscled young man give him the dirtiest look as he embraced her.

He must have a thing for Tina! Even better. There was nothing Logan enjoyed more than to cock block another guy, so this was just gravy.

Tina returned his hug.

“Hey Logan! I didn’t know you went here!” she said enthusiastically.

He handed her one of the shots of tequila.

“Here’s to escaping Seymour’s Bay!” he toasted.

They each downed their shot.

They visited for a while, Tina sharing stories of what she was up to back home, Logan pretending to listen, all while feeding her more shots and cups of beer.

When he felt she was sufficiently drunk, he pulled her into the crowd to dance. She had some great moves as she pressed against him, swinging her hips to the beat of the song blaring over the speakers.

The young man from earlier was still staring, still glaring.

_Good._

Suddenly the shout of _JELLO WRESTLING!!!_ could be heard over the music.

_Perfect timing._

His brothers drug out a kiddie pool full of jello into the middle of the room. Several of the girls partying began to strip naked before climbing into the pool, sliding around as they play fought, kissing and groping each other for the crowd’s amusement.

Logan led Tina over to a couch behind the crowd and pulled her onto his lap. He pressed a kiss to her full lips, which she returned eagerly.

His hand slid up her leg and side to cup her breast, squeezing it to see how far she was willing to let this go.

Tina arched her hips towards him. She wanted more.

He broke away from her mouth and eased part of her top down, exposing one of her full breasts, rolling the nipple with his thumb.

She moaned.

Logan tipped his head down, mouth covering the erect nub, sucking, nibbling, and flicking his tongue over it.

She moaned louder.

He looked up to make sure the young man from earlier was still looking.

He was.

And he looked absolutely furious.

_Why hadn’t he intervened?_

Deciding to press his luck as the crowd was still focused on the now 69’ing jello girls, and not on what he was doing, he pulled Tina’s top down further, exposing both of her breasts.

Returning his mouth to them, he eased his hand down her stomach, unbuttoned her jeans, and slipped his fingers between her legs.

_Holy fuck she was really wet_.

Tina’s had reached down to rub his now erect cock through his jeans.

He’d better get them out of here before he came in his pants.

“Come on, let’s go upstairs” he suggested, replacing her top as he hurriedly dragged her up to his room, the angry guy from earlier nowhere in sight.

He was going to fuck Tina silly, and send Louise a video message while he was balls deep in her.

Revenge was going to be his that night.

…

Zeke was pissed.

He was trying to keep Tina out of trouble tonight, but that Logan guy snaked his way in.

He had dragged her away, gotten her drunk, and even went out of his way to fool around with her when he knew Zeke was looking.

He really wanted to beat the shit out of the smarmy frat boy but getting arrested for assault was not the way he wanted to spend his weekend, or the way he wanted Tina to see him.

So he waited, biting his tongue, and clenching his fist.

The party grew wild as a few of the drunk girls wrestled each other in jello.

But Zeke wasn’t interested in them.

He was only interested in the dark-haired beauty that Logan had his hands all over.

His plastic cup of beer quickly emptied, and when he went to the kitchen briefly for a refill, the pair had disappeared.

Zeke handed Jimmy Junior his beer, telling him to stick with Tammy and Jocelyn while he went to find Tina. J-ju had waved him off, too intent on watching the guy next to him jacking off to the jello girls.

Zeke pushed his way through the crowd to check each door. He tried every closet, bathroom, and bedroom on the ground floor before making his way upstairs.

In the last room he opened, he found them.

Logan had her on all fours in the sheep position, head pressed into the bed, pounding her hard from behind as she screamed in pleasure.

“Tina!” Zeke yelled.

“Hold on, I’m about to nut!” Logan laughed at him.

A few more hard thrusts and he was finished.

Logan pulled out of her and gave her a playful slap on her rear that was still in the air.

Throwing on his pants, Logan swaggered out of the room, clapping Zeke on the shoulder.

“She’s all yours, buddy!”

Zeke probably would have knocked the blonde man out if he had lingered.

He approached Tina and gently shook her shoulder to make sure she was okay.

“Zeke?” she slurred “I’m so happy you’re here!” She sat up and threw her arms around him, not caring about her nudity.

“C’mon T, lets get you back to the hotel”

Tina attempted to stand up but swayed on her feet before falling back onto the bed.

“Can we stay here for a bit? Just until the room stops spinning.”

“Sure T-bird.”

Tina pulled him onto the bed with her, pressing her naked body against him.

Zeke held her protectively, his hand on her lower back.

Tina scooted up and began to kiss Zeke. Not able to resist, he kissed her back enthusiastically, his hands moving to cup her face.

“Mmmm….your hands are so big” she moaned “I wonder what else is big.”

She quickly unzipped his pants and pulled out his half-erect member.

At her touch he felt himself becoming fully hard. Tina rolled on top of him, sliding his thick cock into her.

She rocked her hips, as she rode him, Zeke’s hands sliding up to grip her hips.

His eyes shot open when he realized what was happening, and gently pulled her off him.

“What’s wrong, Zeke?” she asked, puzzled “don’t you want me?”  
  
Zeke pulled her back against his chest and kissed the top of her head.

“T- …I love you, and want nothing more than to be with you, but not like this. I want our first time…MY first time to be special. And I don’t want you to be too drunk to consent.”  
  
She looked up, at him and gave him a sweet smile, brushing her lips to his cheek, “okay.”  
  
They stayed that way for a few more minutes before Zeke helped her back into her clothes and took her back to her hotel room, tucking her in, and making sure she had a trash can next to her bed in case she got sick, as well as a glass of water and a couple of aspirin on the bedside table.  
  
He gave her one last kiss as she fell asleep, knowing she likely would remember none of it the next day.

Quietly, he let himself out and walked back to the party.  
  
He needed to get drunk.  
  
A night of kegs stands later, and Zeke awoke a hotel room, not his, but definitely the same hotel.  
  
His head pounding, completely naked.  
  
_What the hell happened?_

He remembered what happened with Tina.  
  
He remembered going back to the party.

He remembered doing _at least_ four keg stands.

Everything after that was a blank.

Suddenly, he noticed a stirring to his left. He glanced over to see a pile of blonde hair.  
  
_Shit_.

The owner of the hair rolled over, revealing herself to be none other than Tammy.  
  
_SHIT._

Zeke had rebuffed the girl he loved, only to hook up with Tammy. This couldn’t get any worse.  
  
_But it could._

To his right he noticed another lump under the blanket stirring. He peeled back the covers just enough to reveal Jocelyn.  
  
_Are you fucking kidding me?! What did I DO?!_

Zeke gently eased out of the bed, grabbed his discarded clothes off the floor, and booked it back to his own room, praying he wouldn’t run into anyone else on his way.

He really hoped the two girls kept this to themselves.

…

In her own room, Tina woke up, sore from her hook-up with Logan. She remembered how much of a turn on it was when he had halfway undressed her in a room full of people, and the sex itself was pretty good after he had taken her up to his room. It got a little fuzzy after that.  
  
_Had she hooked up with someone else that night too?_

She vaguely had this memory of a pair of large hands squeezing her hips as she straddled him.

She shook the idea from her head. That must have just been a dream after she fell asleep.  
  
Laying back she touched herself thinking of all those people in the room. What if she had let him fuck her with all of them watching? She moaned.

That would be so hot.

She finished herself off with the fantasy.

While too late for the fantasy to happen here, perhaps it COULD happen somewhere else.  
  
She smiled, remembering their sleepy town was home to the perfect location for her to find out. And this time she didn’t want a clumsy fumbling by another teen, or some drunk frat boy.

She wanted a man.  
  
And she knew just where to find one.  
  
The Desire Dungeon.

…

In order to get into the club, she would first need a fake ID, and a trip down to the wharf one evening to see Mickey accomplished just that.

Next, she needed to go shopping. She was underage and was attempting to lie her way into a sex club. No way did she want to get recognized.

Tina cut class one morning, taking the bus to the outlet mall to find her perfect disguise. She ended up finding a discreet boutique tucked away in the back that catered to the adult club scene.

She selected a snug black mini tube dress with a slit up one side and a pair of black stilettos with red soles.

The sales-woman, Roxy, recommended she try everything on to make sure she liked how the entire ensemble looked, and when Tina emerged from the dressing room to check herself out in the full length mirror of the shop, she gasped.

She did not look like a girl of 16, but of an extremely sexy _adult_ woman.

Admiring herself from a few angles, Roxy came up to her with some bobby pins.  
  
“May I?” she asked.

Tina acquiesced, not entirely sure what she was planning.

Working quickly with the pins, Roxy explained that she would look most sexy with her hair in a chignon. She left one thick curl down the side of her face.

She stepped back to admire her work, “Hmm...it’s still missing something...Oh! I know!”

She plucked a lace mask off a nearby shelf, carefully tying around Tina's head.

“There!” She exclaimed, finally satisfied with the result. “Now all you'll need is some red lipstick and you'll have every guy begging to bend you over the bar.”

Tina blushed, not sure if she was ready for that much attention.

She had hidden her purchases in a duffel bag along with her yoga class gear. She normally went to class 3 days a week, so it would be the perfect cover for her to be out late without arousing suspicion from her family.

The next Friday night she grabbed her duffel and told her parents not to wait up, as she headed down the stairs, she would be at Tammy's tonight studying after yoga class.

She knew no one would call to check on her.

After all, she was the honest Belcher, and rarely did anything she wasn't supposed to.

Tina walked to the now deserted park, locking herself into the public restroom to prepare.

First, she stripped down, taking a moment to admire her womanly figure in the mirror, full breasts and hips, small waist, and long legs...she knew she had blossomed from an awkward young teenager into a drop dead gorgeous young woman.

She slipped on a tiny black lace thong before pinning up her hair as Roxy had shown her and stepped into her new heels.

She allowed herself a practice walk around the room before checking herself out again in the mirror, clad only in the tiny panties and fuck-me heels.

She felt herself getting aroused and pulled her panties aside, allowing herself a few moments to play with herself as she watched in the mirror.

Sighing, she stopped, knowing she was wasting her limited time.

She quickly pulled on and arranged the very snug dress, applied her deep red lipstick, the same shade as the soles of her pumps, and donned the lace mask Roxy had thoughtfully picked out.

She was ready.

After tucking her duffel bag behind the toilet in the restroom, hoping no one would find it before she got back, Tina ordered an Uber to pick her up just outside of the park.  
  
“Where to ma'am?” asked the driver, a not unattractive man who was somewhere in his 30’s.  
  
“Desire dungeon, please.”

She felt the driver's hot gaze through the rear-view mirror.

She was getting turned on again.

“First time in there?” he asked.  
  
“Yes.”

“You'll definitely turn some heads” he said, giving her another hungry look in the mirror as they sat waiting for a light to turn green.

Tina bit her lip, parted her legs, knowing he was still peeking at her “You think so?”

She touched herself, moving her panties aside to give him a quick glance at her wet pussy to tease him.  
  
“Definitely!” he gasped, his hand rubbing through his pants.

“That's sweet of you to say,” she murmured.

They had arrived at the destination.

“How much do I owe you?” she asked.

“On the house miss. Have a good time, and call me _any_ time you need a ride,” he winked.  
  
Tina straightened her clothes, and exited the car, not looking back at the driver who quickly pulled around the corner to rub one out after she went inside, imagining he had gone into the club with her.

After checking her clutch purse that held her fake ID with the coat checker, Tina took a seat at the bar, crossing her long, smooth legs, making sure the slit in her dress exposed a decent amount of skin.  
  
“What'll it be?” the bartender asked as he sidled up to her.  
  
“I'll have a Butter Crown, please.” She wanted something strong, but sweet to soothe her nerves.

She downed the drink in one shot. “Another please” she said, sliding a fifty across the bar.

The bartender quickly made it disappear. “I'll keep 'em coming as long as you want,” he winked.

Settling in, sipping her second drink, she slowly spun on the stool, taking in the scenes unfolding around her. The club was comprised of various black leather couches, and some scattered beds across the outer walls, along with coffee tables, and even a sex swing or two.

On nearly every surface there were at least 2, often more people in various stages of coitus.

Every position imaginable, more kinks and fetishes than she even knew about.

The bartender noticed her observing the scenes unfolding. “The really kinky shit’s in the back.”  
  
“Oh? Like what?”  
  
“A lot of BDSM stuff, a gynecologist table, and stuff like that. Some people are into some real crazy shit,” he laughed.

Tina laughed along with him, relaxing in the new environment.

After her third drink she hears a vaguely familiar voice behind her say "Hey pretty lady. I haven’t seen you around here before."  
  
She turned around to find none other than Jimmy Pesto...Sr!

She was dead for sure. He was totally going to out her to the bartender as underage and tell her parents that he caught her in a sex club.  
  
“Can I buy your next drink?” he asks, giving her a smoldering look.

_He didn't recognize her! She was still safe!_

Careful not to reveal her unease, she accepted. He spent the next hour chatting her up, thickly laying on the charm.  
  
Jimmy had reached over from his stool nearly immediately after he sat down to stroke her leg that was exposed nearly to the hip.  
  
Soon the hand was on her breast, lightly stroking her nipple through the snug dress.  
  
He got up and gently pulled her legs apart, placing himself between them, leaned down and kissed her hungrily, wiggling her dress down to expose her breasts. Jimmy ran his tongue over her hardened nipples, as she tipped her head back and moaned.  
  
He slipped his hand between her legs, stroking her with his experienced hands.  
  
“I need to have you. NOW” Jimmy growled, leading her to one of the couches.

He pushed her back onto the cushions, and unzipped his pants, pulling out his stiff cock.  
  
“Suck it for a minute.”  
  
She complied, looking up at him through thick lashes as she slowly moved her mouth over him.  
  
He pulled her back off the couch, taking her place.  
  
“Undress for me. Slowly” he demanded.  
  
Tina took her time removing her dress, letting it fall to the floor. Stepping out of it, she turned her back to him, spread her legs slightly, bent over and slowly removed her panties.  
  
“God damn” she heard Jimmy gasp.  
  
Straddling him on the couch she let him ease her down until he was fully inside her.  
  
Tina felt the eyes of multiple people on here as she rode the older man, tits bouncing. A few other patrons joined in, licking and sucking on her breasts as she came.  
  
She was so incredibly turned on by the performance.  
  
Tina returned to the club the following week for a second time, Jimmy claiming her almost immediately, bending her over a plush bench as he penetrated her.  
  
She attempted to come back a third time, only to be stopped at the door by the bouncer, who pulled her aside.  
  
“You know I can’t let you in” the bouncer said, his voice familiar, but she was unable to place it.  
  
“Why? I’ve been in before.”  
  
The bartender sighed, “I know you’re only 16. I was at your birthday party 3 years ago, remember, Tina?”  
  
Tina could now place the face. This was Glitter, one of her dad’s transvestite friends, sans makeup.  
  
“Ok, crap”  
  
“I’ll make you a deal. You don’t come back until you’re AT LEAST 21, and I won’t tell Bob I saw you here. And I won’t tell him you’ve been Pesto.”  
  
Her eyes began to well up with tears.  
  
“Aww its okay baby” Glitter cooed as he embraced her, rubbing her back to comfort her “It’ll be okay. No one else knows it’s you, and as long as you hold up your end of the deal your secret is safe with me.”  
  
Tina nodded, and quickly made her way around the corner to call a cab to get her back to the park.  
  
She was no longer in the mood to be watched by strangers.

…

Tina pressed herself against Zeke after their second round of lovemaking that day. This time they had taken it slow. Both to take their time getting know each other’s bodies, but also to not rouse her parents with the sounds of their activities.  
  
Zeke pressed a kiss to her temple.  
  
Tina propped herself up onto his chest. “Nosy question, but how many other’s have you been with?”  
  
“Uh…a few”  
  
“Anyone I know?”  
  
“We-ell…there was one time with Tammy and Jocelyn last year when we were at Rutgers for the weekend” he offered, glossing over the drunken blow job he had received from Jimmy Jr. a few years back.  
  
Tina laughed, “That never happened.”  
  
“Pretty sure it did. I woke up in bed with both of them after blacking out.”  
  
“No, it really didn’t. Jocelyn and I talked the next day about the party, and she told me that after you brought me back to my room and went back to the party, you got totally trashed and Tammy tried to sleep with you, but you couldn’t um…get it up…so after you passed out the two of them hooked up.”  
  
“Wut?”  
  
“Oh my god” Tina gasped, her eyes widening “if that was the only other time, then this afternoon was your _first_ time!”  
  
Zeke chuckled, “Not quite.”  
  
“I thought you said there was no one else”  
  
Zeke relayed the events that happened after Logan that she herself couldn’t remember.  
  
“So, I’m still your first then?”  
  
“Appears so, baby girl”  
  
“And your second…and third…want to make it a fourth?” she asked, doing her best to give him a smoldering look.  
  
“I think it’s safe to say I want you to be my only” Zeke whispered, just loudly enough for her to hear “I know this might be a little redundant at this point, but T-”  
  
“Yes, Zeke?”  
  
“Will you be my girl?”  
  
She smiled.  
  
“Always”  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thinking about exploring a separate story line based off this one for Louise...thoughts?
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Truths and Lies

Linda was more observant than people gave her credit for.

She knew when Gene tried to hide a cat under his bed. (Which she made him gift to his Aunt Gayle to spare Bob’s allergies).

She knew when Louise skipped school every few weeks.

She even knew about Tina’s recklessness at that college party last year.

And that evening at dinner, after Bob was adequately drugged from his trip to the E.R., she knew something had happened between Zeke and her eldest daughter.

Even had he not been high as a kite, her Bobby probably wouldn’t have noticed how the kids were positively chatty.

He also probably wouldn’t have noticed how Zeke would brush his hand against Tina’s and she didn’t yank it away.  
  
After a rather pleasant meal, the pair had excused themselves, claiming they were going to take a walk down to the wharf, and Linda watched out the living room window as they walked down the street, Tina slipping her hand into Zeke’s.

_Okay MAYBE Bobby would have noticed that one._

Linda sighed.

It was about time Tina pulled her head out of her ass.

Linda had known for years now that Zeke had a crush on her daughter, but after seeing the horses added discretely into his tattoo, she realized it was a bit more than that.

Now they had finally gotten together.

Linda began to imagine spring weddings…grand babies…

_Crap. Was Tina on birth control?_

Linda made a mental note to make an appointment for Tina at the clinic to do just that. Not that they were probably having sex yet, but neither of them needed a surprise pregnancy this young.

The distant squeaking of Tina’s mattress later that evening told her she should probably take her in sooner rather than later.

_Now how was she going to break the news to Bob?_

…

Monday morning Linda left with Tina, under the guise of going to the market.

As they pulled into the clinic parking lot, Tina gave her mother a puzzled look.

“Uhhh…why are we at the women’s clinic? Are you okay, mom?” Tina asked nervously.

“Aww I’m okay Tina-beana. We’re here for you.”

Tina paled.

_What did she know?!_

“I know about you and Zeke” she sighed “And while I would rather you guys waited, you’re gonna do what you’re gonna do, and I just want my baby protected.”

Tina pulled her mother into a hug. “Thanks mom.”

Linda squeezed her daughter tight, enjoying the moment.

“So…how was he?”

“Mom!”

“What?” Linda laughed “You know you can talk to me about that sort of thing!”

Tina shook her head in embarrassment and walked into the clinic hand-in-hand with her mother.

_Meanwhile across town at Bob’s Burgers…_

Zeke lazily flipped a burger patty into the air as Bob carefully minced onions for the Burger of the Day, the _Ride ‘Em Cowboy Burger_ that featured caramelized onions, jalapeño aioli, and A1 sauce.

Tina had come up with the burger the night before when Zeke had snuck into her room after her parents had gone to bed.

Zeke felt his cheeks burning as she wrote it on the chalkboard that morning, hoping that Mr. B wouldn’t catch the reference.

But to his credit, the old cook was as oblivious has always.

Whelp, he was going to find out sooner or later.

Zeke cleared his throat, “Uhh…Mr. B?”

“Yes, Zeke?”

“I…uh…need to talk to you about Tina.”

Bob set down his knife and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Is she being mean to you again? I’ll have a talk with her when she gets back.”

Zeke chuckled, “No Mr. B, it’s nothing like that. She…uh…we…we’re kind of…uh…dating.”

Bob froze, hand absent mindedly reaching back down to the discarded knife.

“You’re dating my _baby girl_?”

“Yes sir.”

 _“When did this happen?!”_ Bob screeched.

“A few days ago” Zeke rubbed his neck as he often did when he was nervous “I just wanted to tell you myself before you figured it out. I really care about her, Mr. B. Have for a long time.”

“I had no idea, Zeke. Well, just…treat her right. She’s a good girl.”

“I will Mr. B.”

“And Zeke?”

“Yeah?”

“No more surprises when I’m holding a knife.”

“You got it Mr. B”

The two men continued prepping for the day’s customers, a slight air of awkwardness between them.

…

"Ugh. They're at it again" Bob groaned at the faint sound of squeaking bed springs coming from Tina's room. He moved to get out of bed. "I'm going to say something"

"Oh no you will not mister," Linda asserted "They're young and in love. And besides, this is the last night before Gene and Louise get home. Let them have their fun."

Zeke had gradually begun moving his things into Tina’s room over the last few weeks until they had pretty much moved in together. Bob was not thrilled about it but kept this to himself at Linda’s urging.

"But do they have to do… _that_ …here?" Bob whined.

"Better here than in the alley. Ha ha"

Bob says nothing, not sure if he should tell Linda about catching them getting handsy in the alley during one of their breaks.

Or the walk-in.

They really weren't as sneaky as they thought, but he supposed it would be less embarrassing for all of them if they didn't acknowledge it.

"Well at least make sure she's on birth control, Lin. The last thing she needs is a baby before she finishes high school"

"Sure thing, Bobby” Linda agreed, avoiding telling him she had done that weeks ago. He was still under the impression his daughter was relatively innocent.

Bob put a pillow over his head to block out the building noise of the amorous activities and moans coming from down the hall.

This was going to be a long night.

…

The next afternoon Gene and Louise burst into the restaurant, just having returned from the airport, darkly tan from their months in Florida.

“Hey, baby Belchers!” Zeke greeted them enthusiastically “how was your summer?”

“Great! I got a tan with no tan lines! Wanna see?” Louise starts to lift up her shirt.

“Uhh...no thanks, I'll take your word on it” Zeke stammered awkwardly.

Louise shrugged “Your loss.” Besides, it wasn't _Zeke_ she wanted to show off her tan to she thought to herself.

Tina came out from the kitchen, rounding the counter to give each of her siblings a hug to welcome them back, returning behind the counter afterwards to help Zeke refill the shakers and condiments as her younger siblings recounted stories of their summer.  
  
Gene regaled them with stories of jamming out with some surfers on the beach nearly every night at bonfire parties, while Louise talked about the kick boxing club she had joined.

Louise stopped jabbering suddenly, taking in the changed body language and dynamic between her sister and the grill cook.

“Wait...are you two…?”

Tina blushed and Zeke took her hand, brushing his lips against the back of her wrist "Yep!"

"Sick!" Louise shrieked.

"It's about time" Gene smirked "you know this guy’s been after you for almost _5 years_ right? I knew that and I don’t usually notice these things."

Tina smiled sweetly, “I guess it took me a while to see what was in front of me the whole time.”

Zeke grinned from ear to ear and swept her into a passionate kiss.

From the kitchen doorway Linda exclaimed, “Aww! That's so romantic!”

"Okay guys, get back to work” Bob scolded.

“Your father’s right. Go upstairs and unpack, then come back down for your shifts.”

“Ugh. Can I at least take a shower first? I need to get this plane stink off me” Louise complained.  
  
“Quick one. Then right back down here Miss Missy!”  
  
“I’m good!” Gene shares cheerfully, spinning around on the bar stool he occupied.

Without giving her mother time to change her mind Louise bolted upstairs. She had a dingle berry to text.

…

That evening Tina, biting her nails, watched Zeke's face closely as he read the latest version of her short story she had been working on all summer.

She swore at one point his eyebrows must have gone high enough to fully merge with his hairline.

He slowly closed the laptop after he finished and let out a low whistle.

That's...I mean...wow.”

“Well? What did you think?”

Zeke opened the laptop again, concentrating on the words in front of him.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“Is any part of it true?”

Tina hesitates, “Well, the writing prompt WAS fictionalized non-fiction.”

Zeke’s face darkened.

She sighed. The conversation was proving to be a lot more awkward than she was anticipating.

“The Henry Haber thing...no. Can you even imagine him being naked in front of other people?”  
  
Zeke laughs, “I guess not.”

“Louise and Logan...I heard rumors, but I can't say for sure.”

Zeke folds his arms waiting for her to finish.

“Nothing happened between Josh and I, he's been pretty steady with Jimmy Jr. for a while.”

He raised an eyebrow at that. He didn't realize she knew about her old flame’s orientation.

“As for Logan and me, you were there for that one. I know I over embellished quite a bit, but it unfortunately happened.”

“And Pesto?” he pressed.

Tina stiffened. She was hoping he'd forget about that one.

“It…it happened. But not like that. It’s really not something I want to talk about.”  
  
From the look on her face he knew better than to press the issue further, but it was only a matter of time before his curiosity would get the better of him.

Zeke gently caressed the top of her hand with his thumb, “I mean...do you...do you still WANT stuff like that? he asked hesitantly.

She cupped his cheek in her hand.

“No. Not anymore. I think writing about myself like that... I was searching for something...maybe for myself. But I don't want to BE that person anymore. I don't NEED to be overly sexed up, or a party girl.” She smiled sweetly at him, brushing her lips lightly against his.

“I like who I am when I'm with you.”

“And I like who I am with you” he replied, wrapping her in his massive arms “And who I am, is a big ‘ol pile of mush who’s gonna start reading ya poetry every night when we go to bed.”

Tina gave him a quizzical look.  
  
“Get yer ass to bet girl!”  
  
Tina complied, snuggling against him as he begins to read to her.

  
  
_I wandered lonely as a cloud_   
_That floats on high o'er vales and hills,_   
_When all at once I saw a crowd,_   
_A host of golden daffodils;_   
_Beside the lake, beneath the trees,_   
_Fluttering and dancing in the breeze._

She drifted to sleep, the words swirling in her head.

…

School started back up rather uneventfully, until news got around that Zeke and Tina were now an item.  
  
That started a whole world of drama.  
  
Tammy, though still in an ill-defined “thing” with Jocelyn, was furious, and took the new relationship as a personal insult, going out of her way to harass Tina every chance she got.

But Tina didn’t care.

She had Zeke, and that was all she needed.

…

Tina paced outside the front of Huxley high after school on Friday.  
  
 _Where was he?!_

His tardiness was uncharacteristic and made her nervous,

She pulled out her phone to call him, and he picked up almost immediately.  
  
“Zeke! Where are –”

“T, I’ll meet you at home” he said in a rush, hanging up on her.  
  
Tina slowly shuffled home, her mind wandering.  
  
 _Was he mad at her?_

_Had she done something wrong?_

_Was there someone else? They had just started dating! How could he have replaced her so quickly?!_

Her mind was elsewhere as she worked that afternoon, burning her fair share of burgers.  
  
Suddenly Zeke rushed in, throwing on his apron.  
  
“Zeke, where have you been?!” she whispered harshly.  
  
He gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

“We’ll talk about it tonight T.”  
  
She pursed her lips. Sure they would.

…  
  


  
Tina perched on the edge of her bed as Zeke paced their bedroom, running his hands through his hair.

Suddenly he stopped and was on his knees in front of her, his large hands clasped around hers.  
  
“Ya know I love ya, right girl?”  
  
“Yes…” she started hesitatingly.

_Here it comes._

“I was late because I was with the guidance counselor after class.”  
  
Tina felt her stomach begin to unknot.  
  
“I got an offer for a full-ride scholarship to a culinary school up in New Hampshire.”  
  
“Zeke! That’s wonderful!” she cried, throwing her arms around his neck, peppering his face with kisses.  
  
He gently pulled her arms down.

“Here’s the thing though. My grades aren’t that great. The counselor says that even if I get all A’s this year, which…let’s be honest…that ain’t happening…I’ll still barely get by with a D average. And that just ain’t gonna cut it.”  
  
Tina’s face fell, “Oh…”  
  
Zeke chewed his lip for a minute “He gave me another option. If I start now, I can get my GED and my grades won’t matter. They have a 9-month program, and I could be done by the time you graduate.”  
  
“B-but that would mean you wouldn’t be here for our senior year!”

Her eyes started to tear up.  
  
He quickly pulled her to his chest and kissed the top of her head.  
  
“I know baby girl, but I feel like I really need to do this. For me…for _us_. This way wherever you want to go after you graduate, I can come with ya….if that’s what ya want.”  
  
She lifted her large brown eyes to his “Of course I want that! I just would hate not being with you all that time.”  
  
“You say the word and I won’t go. If it’s going to hurt ya, it’s not worth it.”  
  


She drew in a deep breath “No Zeke, you should go. We’ll…we’ll make this work.”  
  
He picked her up and spun her around the room. “You won’t regret this T-bird! I’ll make you proud!”  
  
“I know you will” she thought to herself that night, as they lay in bed, Zeke softly snoring while holding her against him.  
  


  
…  
  


  
Somewhere below, in the depths of the building, a resounding *crack* could be heard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case it wasn't clear, the events of Tina's history from the last chapter were the short story she had been working on in Chapter 1.
> 
> Also, in case anyone was wondering, the poem Zeke reads to Tina is "I wandered lonely as a cloud" by William Wordsworth. It's a great poem and worth a read (or 10).
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this one, I'll try to get the next one up soon.


	5. Movin' on up, to the beach side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a life changing disaster, the Belchers are forced to relocated.
> 
> The family says goodbye to Zeke.

The early morning sunlight danced across her face, waking her from her slumber.

Tina felt a chill across her chest, realizing Zeke had pulled her top up in his sleep, one large hand cupping her breast. The other had been slipped into the front of her pajama shorts, fingers poised as if ready to enter her.

This wasn't the first time she had woken up in this predicament, and it promised to be an enjoyable morning if past occurrences were any indication.

She shifted a leg open slightly, guiding his hand further down to her slit, pressing a thick finger inside of her.

Zeke stirred in his sleep, gathering her tightly to his chest.

Tina felt his erection pressing into her backside. Reaching back, she tugged at the waistband of his boxers, freeing his massive hard cock, gripping it firmly.

She began to stroke him gently at first, picking up speed hoping he would wake up.

She had developed an ache between her legs...an ache only he could fill and she needed him NOW.

Tina felt his lips brush against the side of her neck, before he nipped gently at her ear.

He was always such a tease!

“You're up awfully early this morning,” he murmured into her hair.

“I think _you’re_ the one who's up,” she replied, earning a groan in response to her lame joke.

Zeke slipped off the thin fabric that separated them and shifted his body on top of hers, beginning to kiss and nibble his way down the side of her neck, stopping at her breasts to lazily suck at one of her firm nipples, before resuming his journey down her stomach.

Pulling her bottoms part way down, he lightly bit one of her hips causing her to arch her back and moan loudly.

He quickly clamped a hand over her mouth, a silent reminder to her that they were not alone in the apartment.

Zeke slid her shorts off, and gently pulled her legs open, sliding his arms up her sides and back to her breasts as he lowered his face to her.

He teased her with the barest flick of his tongue on her folds, causing her to quiver in anticipation. When he felt had tormented her long enough, he further delved his tongue into her, tasting her juices as she quaked beneath him.

Unable to wait any longer, he drew himself up and positioned himself at her entrance.

“Please Zeke,” she whispered.

That was all he needed, and he plunged inside her.

Tina wrapped her legs tightly around his waist as they found their rhythm, meeting his thrusts eagerly.

It was at his point the door was thrown open and Louise burst in.

“Louise! Get out!” Tina shrieked.

Louise leaned on the door frame.

“Nice ass,” she tossed at Zeke before looking at her sister.

“Mom said meet us downstairs when you guys are…finished. Important family business.”

When Louise didn’t leave right away Tina threw a pillow at her. Louise rolled her eyes and stalked out of the room after slamming the door shut behind her.

“I'm sorry Zeke, that probably killed the mood.”

“It's okay T-bird,” he said, giving her a loving kiss on the forehead. “We can always finish this later.”

Tina slipped off the bed and went over to the dresser, bending over to dig out some jeans from one of the lower drawers.

She felt Zeke's hands on her hips.

“Okay, its later enough,” he laughed as he bent her over the top of the dresser, thrusting into her hard from behind.

With the rest of the family downstairs, Tina wasn't worried about her loud cries of pleasure being heard.

All too soon, they climaxed together, and Zeke rested his head on the back of her shoulder until he caught his breath.

He pulled out and gave her a light smack on her bare buttocks.

  
“I never knew you were such a screamer, T!”

…

After getting dressed, the couple made their way outside and found Mr. Fishoeder arguing with Bob and a man with a clip board and a hard hat that neither of them recognized.

“What's going on?” Tina asked her mother, who was standing with Gene and Louise apart from the trio of bickering men.

Linda hesitated, “You'd better ask your father.”

They approached the mustachioed Belcher patriarch cautiously. It was rare he ever displayed this much anger, and when it did happen, it was generally best to give him space.

Feeling like they were poking a bear, Zeke spoke first. “Hey Mr. B. Mr. Fish. What's all the hubbub?”

“Didn’t you guys hear that loud noise last night?”

“Uh…no?”

Bob sighed, exasperated, “Go ahead and tell them Miles.”

The fellow in the hard hat stuck out a hand to Zeke, who politely shook it.

  
  
“I'm Miles Coty with the City Safety Inspector's office. While I wish I was here under different circumstances, I unfortunately have to condemn this property and serve you folks with a 24 hour notice to vacate.”

“What?! Why?” Tina cried.

“Well, from what I can tell, it looks like something tunneled in from under the street, weakening the foundation. If I didn't know any better, it looks like a shark chomped its way in.”

Louise bowled over in a fit of laughter.

Miles gave her a puzzled look then continued.

“From the city records I can see that massive repair work was done to the street itself, but the substructure for your building was _not_ repaired at that time, but rather covered with some cheap cinder blocks. Over the years the blocks just gave way, and the building is no longer safe to inhabit and will require demolition.”

“B-but where will we go?” Tina whimpered before burying her face in Zeke's chest.

“Well, I have advised your father to hire an attorney. With the extremely unsafe state of the building as it has been for the last 4 years, your family should be entitled to a rather large settlement.”

It was at this time Mr. Fishoeder magnanimously addressed the family.

“Which is why, I am inviting you Belchers out to my home this afternoon to discuss terms.”

Miles passed off some paperwork to Bob and shook his hand, “Pleasure meeting you Bob. Good luck.” then retreated back to his work van, riding off into the sunrise.  
  


Linda shooed the children upstairs, gathering them into the living room.

  
“Zeke, Tina, I need you two to pick up some empty boxes from Fresh Feed, and to start packing up the kitchen and living room while we’re gone,” Linda delegated.

“Gene, Louise, work on your own rooms. I expect both of you to be at least halfway packed by the time we get back.”

“We’re on it!” Gene saluted his mother.

  
  
Giving each of her children a quick squeeze, Linda met Bob downstairs, heading out for the Fishoeder estate.

Zeke pulled Tina aside. “Hey T, how would you feel about us getting some help packing today?”

“Like Jimmy Jr., Rudy, or Alex?”

  
  
Zeke shook his head.

“I was thinking someone more useful. Let me make a call real quick”

He stepped into the bedroom and closed the door to make his call.

  
  
Five minutes later he emerged, looking pleased “They’ll be here in 30 minutes or less.”

  
“Did you order a pizza?!” Tina asked incredulously.

Zeke chuckled.

  
“You’ll see.”

  
Twenty minutes later Zeke’s phone buzzed.

  
“They’re here!”

  
“Who’s here?”

  
He didn’t respond, but led her outside as a large freight truck pulled up.

  
Critter and Mudflap hopped out of the cab as the back lifted up to reveal a dozen One Eyed Snakes as well as numerous empty boxes.

  
“Hey Z! Long time no see!” Critter clapped him on the shoulder in greeting.

  
“I really appreciate this man” Zeke held out one of the Snake’s cards to the gang leader.

  
Critter held a hand up in refusal.

  
“Nu-uh. This one’s for Bob.”

  
Turning back to his crew he shouted, “Alright boys! You know the drill. We gotta get the entire house packed and loaded before Bob and Linda get back. You **will** pack carefully, and LABEL. THE. BOXES. Now get on it!”

  
Tina and Zeke followed and packed up clothes and toiletries from both their room as well as Bob and Linda’s. They weren’t sure where they were going, or even if they’d be leaving that night, but they wanted to be prepared.

Tina was amazed at the efficiency and care in which these hardened men (and Mudflap) cleared the apartment.

  
As they worked snippets of conversations could be heard.

  
_“How many basters does one man need?!”  
_

_  
“Who’s hogging the bubble wrap?”  
_

_  
“Why is there a pinecone on the mantle?”_

Mudflap had whooped at that one, surprised they had kept her simple gift all these years.

  
Within two hours the entire house was emptied, aside from a pile of luggage the kids had dragged into the living room.

  
Critter shook Zeke’s hand as the last of the boxes were loaded into the truck.

  
“Tell Bob we’ll take care of storing their stuff until they get in a new place.”

  
“Sure thing Critter. Tell Side Car hello for me.”

  
And as quickly as they had come, they were gone.

“Well that was…unexpected” Tina sighed “What did you do to earn that favor?”

  
Zeke let out a hearty laugh, “Nuthin illegal, I promise. I used to babysit Side Car, and one time I watched him for a whole weekend so they could go to a biker rally in Sturgis. I think it musta been like their second honeymoon or somethin. They were pretty grateful for the break and gave me the card on top of a pretty decent wad of cash.”

Tina squeezed his hand.

  
“You’re just a big softie aren’t you?”

  
Zeke put a finger to her lips playfully.

  
“Sshh! That’s a secret!”

  
They both broke out into a fit of giggles over that.

  
Sitting on the floor against a bare living room wall, Tina leaned her head onto Zeke’s shoulder.

  
“What now?”

  
“Guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” Zeke replied, before kissing her gently.  
…  
  
A few hours later Bob and Linda returned.

  
“You kids better have made some progress!” Linda yelled up the stairs.

  
As they reached the top of the stairs she screamed, “Bobby! Bobby! We’ve been robbed!”

  
Zeke and Tina stirred, waking up from where they fell asleep on the floor.

  
“Mama B, its okay. Everything is safe and sound.”

  
“Zeke…what’s going on?” Bob asked.

  
“I called in a favor, and Crittter came by with the Snakes and packed up the whole place for ya.”

  
“Awww! That was so sweet of them!”

  
Bob cleared his throat.

  
“Family meeting,” he ordered.

  
Zeke hung back.

  
“You too Zeke, you’re family too.”

  
“Aww hell, Mr. B. You’re gonna make me tear up!” Zeke smiled broadly.  
  
  
  
After everyone had gathered in the empty living room, Linda and Bob caught them up on the visit with Fishoeder.

  
“We have some news. We’ll be staying in a hotel for about a week. Mr. Fishoeder has booked us some rooms over at the Oceanview Lodge.”

  
“So…we have a week to find a new apartment?” Tina asked nervously, knowing they didn’t have the funds to move on that short of notice, especially with the restaurant now out of commission.

  
“Actually,” Bob said, and air of excitement in his voice “we are staying in the hotel for a week _while_ Mr. Fishoeder has his beach house fixed up. As part of our settlement he is signing over the deed to his beach house, _and_ two year’s free rent on a restaurant space off the boardwalk!”

After a moment to process the information, everyone burst out in screams of excitement, hugging, crying, and jumping for joy…except Tina, who looked around the now bare apartment, sadness in her eyes.

This had been her home her entire life.

This was where they had had every holiday and birthday, where the kids had learned Bob’s secret burger recipes, where they had plotted all their schemes, cried out every heartbreak…

  
This was home.

  
How could anywhere else feel the same?  
  


  
…

  
  


  
After a relaxing evening in their temporary lodgings, the Belchers gathered in the hotel dining room for breakfast.

  
Bob looked around at his family, giddy like a kid on Christmas morning.

“So, are you kids ready to see the house? It’s not ready yet, but Mr. Fishoeder said we could go by and take a look at it if we wanted.”

“I get first pick of the bedrooms!” Louise shouted.

Everyone began to chatter excitedly about their new home, speculating on what they’d find.

  
Tina picked at her food, not joining in.

  
Bob nudged his eldest daughter playfully with his elbow.

“What’s wrong, Tina? Aren’t you excited about moving to the beach?”

  
“I miss our old apartment” she grumbled.

  
“I do too. But this is a great opportunity for us. It’ll grow on you, you’ll see. And besides…there is a special surprise for you when we get there.”

  
Tina tried to look optimistic for her father.

  
She was terrible at faking her emotions, but he appreciated her making the effort.

…

Bob drove the family down a quiet road near the beach, trying to find their home-to-be.

  
“Hmm…it has to be around here somewhere. Lin, this _is_ the right street isn’t it?”

  
“Yes, Bobby. Siren Cove. 23 Siren Cove. Look! Right there, Bobby! That’s the mailbox!”

  
Sure enough, on a rusty, leaning mailbox, was the faintly painted address of their new home.

This did not bode well.

  
Bob worried that the house itself would be in a similar disrepair as he turned down the long drive.

  
His concerns were quickly eased when they pulled in front of a charming blue and white stilted beach cottage.

  
Even Tina ooh’d and aah’d with the others, clearly impressed.

  
The kids tumbled out of the station wagon, each determined to stake out their claims on what they each determined to be the best room.

  
Bob pulled Tina aside and put his hands over her eyes.

  
“Not so fast, Tina. We’re going to go see your surprise. Keep your eyes closed.”

  
He led her through the sand a short distance, maneuvering her into place.

  
“Okay…open them.”

  
Tina blinked in the bright sun.

  
In front of her was a miniature version of the main house.

  
“Surprise! The property came with a guest house, and your mom and I thought you might like to have your own space.”

  
Tears welled up in her eyes as she gripped her father in a tight hug.

  
“Thanks dad.”

  
Bob held his daughter close, knowing he wouldn’t get too many moments like this with her again.

  
Releasing her he gave her a gentle push towards the small building.

  
“Go on and see what you think.”

  
Tina climbed the weathered steps, and opened the door.

  
She gasped.

  
She couldn’t believe this was all for her!

  
There was a small kitchenette off the entrance, complete with its own stove and fridge, as well as a built-in breakfast nook.

  
Next she found a cozy living room, complete with a love seat and a reclaimed wood coffee table. 

  
_And a fireplace?!_

She imagined her and Zeke cuddled up on cool evenings, in front of a roaring fire, sipping mugs of hot cider.

  
Lastly, she peered into the bedroom.

  
_It was perfect._

It was spacious with hardwood floors, a large walk-in closet, and the best part…a beautiful bay window, complete with a cushioned built-in seat.

  
_Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all._

  
…  
  


  
Life resumed as everyone settled into the new house the following week, and the new restaurant the week after that.

  
Zeke had helped Bob prep for the grand re-opening, but much to his disappointment, he would not be present for it, as he was leaving in a few days for his culinary program.

  
The next 9-months were going to be rough.

  
He had gotten so used to being with his love nearly every minute of every day, and he was not looking forward to their relationship becoming long distant.

  
Sure they could Skype every night, and he would come back to visit on holidays and her birthday, but other than that, the 6 hour drive was too much for more regular trips.

Tina was not taking it very well, and Zeke was determined to make their last few days memorable.

First step, a grand romantic gesture.  
  


  
  
…  
  


  
  
Tina moped around her cottage.

  
Zeke was leaving tomorrow.

He was leaving tomorrow, and he had been gone when she woke up that morning.

He was leaving tomorrow, and had been missing all day.

  
_Didn’t he want to spend time with her before he left?_

  
The sun had begun to set, still with no sign of Zeke.

  
Tina groaned, then plopped face first onto her bed.

  
Today was just awful.

  
_Wait…what was that noise?_

  
The faint sound of music could be heard coming from outside.

  
Curious, she approached the French doors that led to her porch.

  
_It was louder over here._

  
Moving out onto the porch, she leaned onto the railing to find Zeke looking up at her, recreating a scene from one of her favorite movies, _Say Anything._

In his raised hands was a large boom box, playing _Secret Garden_ by Bruce Springsteen…the song he said always reminded him of her.

_Their song._  
  
“Tina Ruth Belcher!” he called up to her “I couldn’t leave without telling ya how I feel about you. I have loved you every day for the last five years, and every day that I get to hold you in my arms and call you my girl is the best day of my life. Tina, I love you with all my heart and soul, and hope to be able to tell you that every day for the rest of my life.”

  
Tina reached an arm over the railing, beckoning him to come closer.

  
Zeke carefully set down the boom box and approached the porch.

  
Tina leaned out from the railing towards him.

Zeke cupped her cheeks in his hands, and kissed her tenderly.

  
He pressed his forehead to hers.

  
“I love you T-bird.”

  
“I love you too Zeke.”  
  
  


…

Zeke reached out for Tina in his sleep, opening his eyes when his outstretched hand didn’t feel her next to him.

  
Rubbing his eyes to focus them, he spotted her.

  
She was sitting on the window bench, arms around her knees - the moonlight silhouetting her body through her nightgown.

  
_She looks like an angel_

Zeke quietly reached for his phone, hoping the noise wouldn’t alert her that he was watching.

  
He snapped a quick photo.  
  


This was a memory he wanted to keep forever.

  
Slipping out of bed he approached her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders

  
“Aren’t the stars beautiful?” she asked, looking out at the beach, the sky full of twinkling stars.

  
He kissed the top of her head and looked down at her.

  
“It’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,” he murmured.

  
Tina leaned back into him.

  
She was going to miss this.  
  


  
…  
  
  


  
The next morning the entire family took Zeke to the bus station to see him off.

  
Linda was a wreck, bawling, “My bonus baby is leaving!”

  
Zeke pulled her into an affectionate hug.

  
“I’ll miss you Mama B.”

  
Bob peeled Linda off Zeke, and offered his hand to the young man.

  
“Make us proud, Zeke.”

  
“I will Mr. B.”

  
Louise gave him a fist bump. Hugs were really not her thing.

  
Gene wasn’t so persnickety, he gripped Zeke in a firm hug.

  
“Bring back cake,” he whispered.

“Sure thing Gene” Zeke chuckled.

  
They wandered back towards the car, allowing Zeke and Tina a last moment of privacy.

  
Tina wrapped her arms around him, wetting the front of his shirt with the tears that had started to flow.

“You better not forget me,” she mumbled into his chest.

  
He tilted her chin up, looked into her eyes, then dipped his head, kissing her passionately.

  
“Never gonna happen baby girl. You’ll be on my mind every second of every day.”

  
He kissed her again, then reluctantly pulled away to board the bus.

  
Reaching his seat, he leaned out the window.

  
“I love you, Tina!” he yelled as the bus pulled out of the station.

“I love you too,” she replied, the words not reaching his ears.

  
She had a sinking feeling in her stomach as the bus disappeared down the highway.

_Why did she feel like she had already lost him?_   
  



	6. Out of sight, out of mind

The 6-hour bus ride was grueling.  
  


The guy he was sitting next to wore entirely too much cologne and was overly chatty. Not that Zeke was anti-social per say, he just didn’t feel like talking.

  
He just missed her so much already.

  
Tina had been texting him sporadically throughout the day – sending him funny pictures, and jokes.

Terrible jokes.

That was so _her_.

He tapped on his phone and pulled up the picture he had taken of her the night before.  
  
 _  
God she was beautiful._

He must have been staring at it for a good long while, because his seatmate leaned over for a peek.  
  


“Wow, she’s hot.”  
  
  
Zeke shot him a warning look.  
  
  
“That’s my girl back home.”  
  
  
“You’re one lucky bastard.”

  
…

The bus arrived at the terminal, and not a moment too soon. If he had to deal with five more minutes of being peppered with questions regarding his sex life with Tina, he would have flat out decked the man.  
  
  
Exiting the building he saw a voluptuous blonde holding a sign with his name in glitter.  
  
  
He approached her.  
  
  
“Umm, I’m Zeke.”  
  
  
She gave him a flirty smile, then stuck out her hand in greeting.  
  


"Pleasure to meet you, Zeke! My name is Sara Beth. I'll be your roommate up at _L'Academie_."  
  
  
"Uhh...but you're a girl."

  
Sara Beth tossed her head back and laughed.  
  


"It's co-ed, sugar bear! Besides, I won't bite...unless you want me to" she winked at him.  
  
  
"I...uh...umm...have a girlfriend?"  
  
  
"Sure you do, sugar bear" she winked again, adding in an almost predatory smile. "Now let's get you all settled in, we have an early day tomorrow!"  
  


### …

The car ride back to the culinary academy was a bit awkward.  
  
Sara Beth filled the silence with lots of chatter, talking to him about everything from where she was from (Georgia) to the guys she used to date back home, occasionally asking about different aspects of his life.

She seemed especially interested in hearing about Tina.  
  
If Zeke had had more experience with women, he probably would have been suspect of her motives.  
  


### …

  
  
She never knew being apart from him would be this hard.

At first he had kept up with their nightly phone calls, and weekly Skypes, but soon the calls became less frequent...from every day to every other day, to once a week.

During their chats Zeke would go on and on about the new cuisines he was creating, and the classes he was taking, a favorite of which was Philosophy of flavor.

Often, Bob would hop on, and the two chefs would chat excitedly about ingredients, and technique, eventually ending the chats hours later, Tina completely forgotten.

In early October, one rainy afternoon a week before Tina's birthday, she finally was able to get him to answer a call, after two weeks of leaving voicemails.

"You're still coming home next Friday, right?  
  


"Uhh...was I supposed to?"

"You said you were going to be here for my birthday." Tina sighed.

"Oh shit, yeah T-bird, I'll be there."

A commotion could be heard in the background.

"Aww hell. I gotta go. Something's burning."

"Okay Zeke, I guess I'll see you Friday. I lo--"

But he was gone.

She cradled the phone in her hands as she sat on her window seat, tears streaming down her face to match the drizzle of rain on the window.

_It was like she didn't even matter anymore to him._

She moved to her bed, curling up around a pillow, sobbing.

_She missed him so much and it seemed like he couldn’t care less._

Sniffing, she wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

_Maybe he was planning something for her birthday._

_Maybe this was all just to throw her off the trail._

_Maybe he really didn't forget her._

She guessed she would just have to wait and see.

...

No call. Not even to pick him up from the bus station.

Bob, not wanting to point out the absence of their bonus family member, had slipped Tina her birthday present a day early.

It was the keys to a small silver sedan.

Nothing fancy, but good enough to get her through college. Now that the restaurant was actually turning a profit, they could finally afford a nice gift like this.

Friday evening Linda had frosted Tina's birthday cake, anxiously looking at her husband every 15 minutes.

Words were not needed.

They both were concerned by Zeke's sudden disappearance on the eve of Tina's 18th birthday, as well as the effect it was having on the eldest Belcher child.

As 11:00 rolled around, Linda placed a hand on her daughter's back while she sat at the dining room table, where she had been sitting, staring into space for the last 3 hours.

"Tina honey, maybe you should get some sleep. It's a big day for you tomorrow."

Tina looked up at her mother, large eyes on the verge of tears.

"I can't mom, what if he gets in and no one is awake to pick him up? What if-?"

Linda wrapped her arms around her daughter, shushing her.

"Don't worry about him Tina. He'll figure something out. I'm sure the bus is just running late, and his phone died."

Tina looked skeptical.

"Now go to bed Miss Missy. I want you well rested for your birthday tomorrow."

Seeing no use in protesting further, she retreated to her guest house, knowing she wouldn't be able to fall asleep, but figuring she should try anyway.

As soon as her head hit the pillow she was out.

...

She awoke a few hours later. Midnight had come and gone.

No calls. No texts. Nothing.

_That bastard._

She dialed his number, hoping he'd at least do her the courtesy of picking up the phone.

It rang two times, then went to voicemail.

_That was odd._

It was like he had seen it was her and had declined the call.

_What the hell was going on?!_

Suddenly her phone pinged with a notification.

Glancing at her screen she saw in was a Snapchat notification from Zeke.

Curious, she opened it, and somehow managed to not drop the phone.

_That fucking BASTARD_.

It was a picture of a large breasted woman, who she could only see from the next down, fucking her boyfriend.

The caption read, "He's busy. Stop calling."

Tina felt her face heat up as her blood boiled in anger.

_So this is what he had been doing while he was gone. Or rather, WHO._

She quickly saved the photo to her phone. She knew she'd need it later.

Tina scribbled out a quick note to her parents, letting them know where she was going and not to worry or call. She'd be home in a day or two.

After packing an overnight bag, she snatched her keys off the counter, raced out of the house, jumped into her new car, and drove slowly down the driveway as to not wake her family up.

She didn't want anyone to try and stop her.

_She was going to fucking kill him_.

### …

She drove through the night, stopping frequently for coffee refills.

Not that she needed it.

The knot in her stomach kept her wide awake and fluctuating between fury and fear.

_How long had this been going on?_

She arrived at Zeke's culinary college around 8, and went straight to his dorm room, hesitating for a moment due to the early hour, before pounding on the door.

She heard a rustling inside as someone shuffled to answer.

Zeke opened the door, clad only in a pair of boxers, hair disheveled as if he had just woken up.

He rubbed his eyes, "Tina? What’re you doing here?"

His eyes got wide "Is everything okay? Did something happen?"

Tina crossed her arms. "You tell me Zeke. Where **were** you? You didn't show, didn't answer your phone, I was worried sick!"

A look of confusion made its way across his face before crumpling. "Oh god T. I am so sorry. I forgot your birthday."

"What happened?!"

Zeke rubbed his neck sheepishly "I was really busy studying and must have lost track of what day it was. Then some of the guys took me out drinking last night…" he trailed off.

Tina still looked furious.

"Zeke, you have been ignoring me for weeks now. What's going on? This isn't like you!"  
  
  
She pulled out her phone, opening it to the damning photo.  
  
  
“And what about this?!”  
  
  
She shoved the phone in his face.  
  
  
He looked at the image, puzzled.  
  
  
“What the hell…I don’t remember this…”

It was at this time Sara Beth roused herself out of bed and sauntered to the door clad only in a pair of stringy panties and a low-cut tank, and leaned an arm on Zeke's shoulder.

"Sugar bear, what's all this commotion? A girl needs her beauty rest."

Tina's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she realized that this was the girl in the picture.

"Close your mouth dear, you look like a trout. Now who are you, and why are you yelling at ol’ sugar bear here?”

Tina glared at Zeke. "Sugar bear?!"

Zeke turned as red as a hot house tomato. "It's a-uh...southern thing I think. This is Sara Beth, my roommate. Sara Beth, this is my girlfriend, Tina."

Sara Beth smirked. "Charmed, I'm sure"

Zeke removed her arm from his shoulder. "Sara Beth why don't you put some clothes on?"

She walked back into the room and laughed. "Nothin' ya'll haven't seen before!"

Zeke turned back to Tina. "T, this isn’t what it looks like."

Tina slapped him across the face then stormed away.

"Tina! Come back! Let’s talk about this!"

Zeke ran into the room and threw on a pair of jeans so he could chase her down, but by the time he got out of the building she was already peeling out of the parking lot.

"Fuck!"

...

Tina didn't cry.

Instead she gripped the steering wheel tight the entire way back to Seymour's Bay.

She was _far_ too angry to cry.

_How **could** he?_

_He chased her for 5 years and told her many times that he loved her._

_Then he goes away for a few months and cheats on her with some southern skank?_

She needed a drink. And she knew just where she could get one.

...

Zeke paced the room running his hands through his hair and mumbling curses under his breath.

_He knew he had been letting their relationship slip a bit as he threw himself into his studies, but how could he forget her birthday?_

"Stop pacing sugar bear, you're making me dizzy"

Sara Beth lay on her bed, propped up on her elbows, watching him.

Zeke turned, as if just noticing she was in the room.

"What the hell Sara Beth?! Why would you send that picture to my girlfriend? And also, what the fuck did we do?! I can’t remember anything from last night,"

Sara Beth giggled, then rolled onto her back, trying to make herself look enticing. "You just seemed so sad all the time, and I did what I had to do to cheer you up."

Zeke glowered at her. "Dammit woman. I told you hundreds of times I wasn’t interested in anyone but Tina."

Zeke sat down heavily at his desk chair and buried his head in his hands.

_How the hell was he supposed to explain this to her?_

He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up to see Sara Beth, completely naked, standing in front of him.

He jerked upright and she seized the opportunity to straddle him, lacing her arms around his neck and pressing herself against him.

"She's gone, sugar bear. Nothin's gonna change that. So lets make the best of a bad situation."

She planted a passionate kiss on his lips.

Zeke found himself surprisingly kissing her back, and not resisting as she unzipped his jeans and begun stoking his cock.

Zeke groaned. It had been a long time since he had last made love with Tina, and with the loss of her still raw, he was feeling a bit vulnerable, and thinking with the wrong brain.

When satisfied with his hardness, Sara Beth eased herself onto his shaft, and began riding him.

Zeke orgasmed hard before realizing what had happened.

He pushed the blonde away from him.

"Fuck, Sara Beth!"

She laughed. " Yeah that's kinda the idea" She kneeled down in front of him and took him in her mouth.

Zeke shot out of the chair and flew back.

"No! I told ya. I have a girlfriend!"

Sara Beth smirked. "Not anymore. And if you still did after she ran off, you certainly don't _anymore_."

Zeke stared daggers at her. "I want you out of this room NOW. I'm asking the RA to put you somewhere else."

"Fine Zeke. But you're walking away from a good thing!" She shouted as she threw on clothes and begun to pack her things.

_I already walked out on the best thing in my life Zeke thought as he turned away._

_How was he going to live without her?_

…

At around 10pm the bell over the door to Jimmy Pesto's rang.

Surprised that someone walked into the empty restaurant at that late hour, Jimmy looked up from the counter he had been wiping down to see a beautiful young woman walk in.

Tina approached the counter and plopped onto a stool.

“Whiskey. Neat.” She demanded.

Jimmy poured her shot and watched as she knocked it back.

“Another.”

He poured her a second shot, as well as one for himself. He lifted his glass, indicating for her to do the same.

“Happy birthday, Tina” he said before taking downing his drink.

Tina followed suit then looked at him, flustered.

"You...remembered my birthday?"

"Of course." Jimmy raised his hand to her face and ran a thumb over her cheek. "How could I forget the birthday of the girl who stole my heart?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...here we go. Getting ready to fill in the blanks on what happened between Tina and Jimmy Pesto!


	7. Coming Full Circle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina goes back to her first real love, and reminisces about how they got together.

"We...we shouldn't be talking like this here" Tina said, eyes darting around the building to see if anyone had noticed his affectionate touch.

"Sure. Let's head over to the house. It's closing time anyway, and the boys are at their mother's this weekend."

She checked once again as they left, paranoid that someone...maybe Mort, Teddy, Edith, anyone that could recognize her would see her heading towards the home of her father's worst enemy.  
  


Finding no one out at that late hour, she sighed, and walked with Jimmy to her car, letting him drive the few blocks to his secluded home.  
  


...  
  
  


After his divorce, Jimmy Pesto had let his ex-wife keep their large half-million-dollar house in exchange for letting him have the smaller single-family residence they normally rented out to seasonal wharf workers for extra money.

It had been vacant at the time they had separated, so it made sense to just move his few belongings that Karen didn't keep into there.

He rather liked the small two-story home, as it was nestled into a rather secluded area of town, that offered a respite from the hustle and bustle many of the other local business owners experienced living above their shops.

Right now he was especially grateful for its seclusion, as he didn't want to risk anyone seeing him escorting the pretty teen girl into his darkened abode.

The last thing he needed was the rumor mill to start up.

As soon as they got inside, he pulled her to him, kissing her deeply, and hugging her tight.

"I've missed you" he murmured into her hair.

Tina clung to the older man for a moment before gently pulling back.

"I'm not sure I believe that...not after how things ended last time. I know you said we shouldn't see each other anymore, but I just...I didn't know where else to go."

Jimmy's face softened. "Are you okay? Did something happen?"  
  


Tina turned away. She wasn't sure if this was a conversation she wanted to have with him.  
  


He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, and gently kissed the back of her neck.  
  
  
 _God she loved when he did that._

"You know how I felt about you then…the same way I feel about you now. You can tell me anything."  
  


Tina whirled to face him.  
  


"How you feel about me? You made it perfectly clear how you felt about me when you broke things off last fall!"  
  


Jimmy pulled her into his arms again. "That was for you. You still had some growing up you needed to do, and you couldn't do that saddled with an old man."  
  
  
He conveniently left out Karen’s threat. She didn’t need to know about that.

She gave him a small sad smile, and lightly punched him it the arm. "You aren't _that_ old."  
  


He laughed. "I'm more than twice your age, love." He kissed her again.  
  


 _She had missed him.  
  
_  
She wasn't sure if she still felt the same way about Jimmy as she had about Zeke, but with Jimmy there was comfort in the familiarity.

They found themselves losing clothes as they made their way to Jimmy's bedroom, reacquainting themselves with each other's bodies.

He held her against his chest after they had finished, stroking her shoulder lightly.

_She had always liked when he did things like that._

"So...I take it you and Mr. Beefcake had a fight?"

Tina rolled her eyes. "First of all, his name is Zeke. He was your son's best friend for years, so you should know that. Second, _Zeke_ is a lying, cheating, birthday-forgetting jerk, who I never want to see again."

"Oof. Harsh words.”  
  
  
Tina rolled over to face away from him. “You should know, when you ended things…I…I did something stupid.”  
  
  
“Something? Or someone?” he teased.  
  
  
“Ugh. _Someone_.”

  
“Anyone I know?”

  
  
“Do you know Logan Bush?”

  
  
Jimmy snickered before busting out in hard laughter.

  
  
“ _THAT_ show-off-y jackass?”

“Some people could say the same about you!” she giggled.

  
  
“Hey now…” Jimmy growled, pulling her on top of him, causing Tina to shriek in surprise.

  
  
“So after _Logan_ ” he emphasized sarcastically “how did you end up with Mr. Beef…err…Zeke?”

  
  
Tina covered her face with her hands, recounting the embarrassing story of how they ended up together, finishing with how they ended things.

  
  
Jimmy drew her into his arms, pressing a kiss onto her forehead.

  
  
“I’m so sorry, love. You deserved better than that.”

  
  
Jimmy slid out of the tangle of sheets between them.

  
  
“Be right back.”

  
  
He ran out of the room, leaving Tina to collect her thoughts.

She reclined back into the nest of pillows that were always piled onto the bed.

  
  
_What was she doing here?_

_  
  
Was this just a rebound…or…?_

Jimmy came back into the room at this time, singing _Happy Birthday_ comically off-key. In his hands was a Hostess cupcake, a lit candle stuck into the center.

  
  
He knelt next to the bed, holding the dessert up to her.

  
  
“Make a wish.”

  
  
Tina closed her eyes, trying to think of something she wanted…then slowly opened them and blew out the candle.

  
  
_She didn’t need to wish for anything. All things considered, she was right where she wanted to be._

  
After sharing the cupcake, and making much more of a mess than necessary so they had an excuse to clean it up, she fell asleep with his arms wrapped around her, content, dreaming of how this whole thing had started.  
  


  
…  
  


  
The summer before Tina turned 17 was a typical off-and-on run for business at the restaurant. Enough so, that she was able to garner some flexibility and freedom.

  
  
There were frequent trips to the Wharf with Tammy and Jocelyn, a tentative truce had developed between the girls, as Tina had finally moved on from Jimmy Jr, as he was becoming a bit more transparent about his sexuality; one that in no way involved her gender.

  
  
Tina was even able to begin building a friendship with him, now that she wasn’t constantly flirting with him. He was kind of an ass sometimes, but it was nice to have friends her own age instead of hanging around with her younger siblings.

In June that year, Jimmy Jr. began to throw festive pool parties at his dad’s house, as supervision was lax, if at all. He soon became known for the wild blow outs, and if there wasn’t at least a half-dozen drunk naked teens there by the end of the night, it was considered a mild affair.

  
  
On one such occasion Jimmy Pesto Sr was home, but had sequestered himself to his study at the behest of his son.

  
  
Not that he minded. It was quiet, dim, and was complete with comfy couches, an ample library of books and records, and of course, a well-stocked bar.

  
  
Jimmy was lounging back in a dark corner, shirt half unbuttoned, a well-aged Scotch filled the glass in his hand, when he heard the door creak open.

  
  
He peered through the faint lighting to observe the intruder in his domain.

  
  
A beautiful young lady, clad in a short, frayed bottom jean mini skirt and a low-cut black tank, which accentuated her full breasts had wandered in. He recognized her as his arch-rival Bob’s oldest.

  
  
Jimmy opened his mouth to tell her to get out, that the party was outside, but stopped short, watching as she lingered, fingers trailing across the linen spines of his antique book collection.

  
  
He became fascinated at how delicately she ran her fingers across them, the Scotch clouding his mind, making him wonder how it would feel to have her do the same across his chest.

  
  
He cleared his throat, alerting her to his presence.

  
  
She jumped in surprise.

  
  
“Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t think anyone was in here.”

  
  
Jimmy chuckled, “It’s okay. I think you must have gotten turned around. The keg is down in the kitchen.”

  
  
She shook her head.

  
  
“No…I…I’m not lost. I actually come in here pretty often when I come to these parties…I just love these old books.”

  
  
She flashed a mischievous smile at him.

  
  
“The bar stock is also much more to my taste in here as well.”

  
  
Jimmy threw his head back and laughed.

  
  
“I thought some of the bottles seemed a little light.”

  
  
He gave her an appraising look.

  
  
“Do you…do you want to try some of the _really_ good stuff?”

  
  
She enthusiastically agreed, so Jimmy poured himself a second Scotch, as well as one for Tina.

  
  
She raised her glass to toast.

  
  
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

  
  
They clinked their glasses, then tossed back the strong, smooth liquid.

  
  
After a brief coughing fit, due to the intensity of the liquor, Jimmy raised an eyebrow at the young woman.

  
  
“Did you just quote _Chaucer_?”

  
  
Tina winked. “Pour me another few drinks and I may start to cite some Shakespearean sonnets.”

  
  
Jimmy burst into a fit of laughter before pouring them each another round.

  
  
Drinks flowed as well as conversation that evening.

  
  
He was surprised to find that he had a lot in common with the raven haired girl perched on the edge of his couch.

  
  
They both shared a love of classic literature, and old books…the smell of the yellowed pages, the texture of the covers…

  
  
Eventually, the discussion steered towards music.

  
  
Tina leaned back into the plush couch next to Jimmy, noticing how the older man’s eyes trailed up her long legs.

_She rather liked how he looked at her._

_It made her feel sexy._

_Desired._

  
  
“Do you ever have those songs that just…turn you…when you hear them?” she mused.

  
  
Caught off-guard, Jimmy choked on his glass of Scotch.

  
  
“Uhh…I’m not sure what you mean.”

  
  
Tina giggled. “Here, let me play you one of my favorites.”

  
  
She pulled herself off the couch, and made her way to his stereo that was situated behind the bar, plugging in an ipod she had somehow managed to fit in the pocket of her ridiculously short skirt.

  
  
Soon the beat of her selection filled the room.

  
  
 _“Got a big plan, this mindset maybe it's right_  
At the right place and right time, maybe tonight  
And the whisper or handshake sending a sign  
Wanna make out and kiss hard, wait never mind”  
  
  


Jimmy found himself enjoying the unique vocals, and hypnotizing beat. He had to hand it to her, this song undeniably had stirred something inside him.  
  


  
  
 _“It's only just a crush, it'll go away_  
It's just like all the others it'll go away  
Or maybe this is danger and he just don't know  
You pray it all away but it continues to grow.”  
  
  


Tina began to sway to the music, eyes closed, lost in the rhythm.

  
  
She was not a particularly good dancer, but the way she ran her hands over her body had Jimmy thinking rather impure thoughts.

  
  
In her intoxication she lost her balance, falling over.

  
“I’m okay!”

  
  
Jimmy sprung over to help her, reaching a hand down, pulling her towards him with more force than necessary, pressing her flush against his chest.

  
  
Tina looked up at him, full lips parted, just begging to be kissed.

  
_“I want to hold you close  
Skin pressed against me tight  
Lie still, close your eyes girl  
So lovely, it feels so right”_

Wrapping one hand around her waist, he trailed the other up her back, and tangled it into her hair, pulling it back firmly, but gently.  
  


_“I want to hold you close  
Soft breasts, beating heart  
As I whisper in your ear  
I want to fucking tear you apart”_

He captured her lips in his, savoring the taste of the smooth Scotch on her tongue.

  
“Shit…I shouldn’t have…”

  
  
Tina grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him back towards her.

  
  
_She wanted him._

_Wanted him BAD._

  
  
Their hands roamed each other’s bodies as they made their way to the floor.

  
  
Jimmy pulled up her top, exposing her breasts, nipples hardened.

  
  
She moaned has he nipped and sucked at each of them.

  
  
Trailing kisses and nips down her stomach, he slid her skirt up, and her panties down, slipping a finger inside her before tasting her for himself.

  
  
Tina arched her back, digging her nails into the carpet as he expertly drove her to dizzying heights with his mouth.

  
  
“I want you” she pleaded.

Jimmy unzipped his slacks, releasing his engorged member.

  
  
Pausing at her entrance, he shifted his weight on top of her, kissing her breathlessly.

  
  
In one smooth motion he entered her, pausing when he noticed her stiffen beneath him.

  
  
His eyes widened in realization.

  
  
“Oh god, Tina, I am so sorry, I didn’t know…”

  
  
She shushed him with a soft kiss.

  
  
“It’s okay, I wanted you to.”  
  


Taking a hasty moment to clumsily remove the rest of his clothing, as well as hers, Jimmy proceeded, more gently this time, allowing her to set the pace.

  
  
She began to match his thrusts, building up speed, throatily moaning in pleasure, gripping his ass to pull him in deeper.

Jimmy held on as long as he could, her nails digging into his skin sending over the edge, causing him to cry out as he orgasmed.

Panting to catch his breath, he rested his forehead on hers.

  
  
“You were _amazing_.”

Tina flushed, unsure what to say, other that “Umm…did you lock the door?”

  
  
“Oh, shit!”

  
…

Jimmy thought their encounter was a one-and-done.

  
  
_Why on earth would she be interested in an old man like him anyway?_

But he couldn’t be more wrong.

  
  
It started with the occasional text, late in the evenings after both of their restaurants had closed, but before long, they began to meet up in secret back at his place.

  
  
At first their rendezvous were purely carnal. It turned out that Tina had quite the sex drive once she got going.

  
  
Soon though, they began spending evenings together just enjoying each other’s company; sharing their mutual love of Abbott and Costello movies over a bowl of heavily buttered popcorn, taking turns reading the classics to each other…Jimmy even taught her how to dance.

  
  
Every day that they spent together, Jimmy wondered how he had lived so close to this beautiful creature for so long without _really_ knowing her…and he began to fall in love with her.

  
  
That is…until Karen found out.  
  


  
  
One evening the pair had been on the couch, Tina on top, as she often liked to do so she could be in control, when the doorbell rang.

  
  
Tina looked alarmed and whispered “Crap! Do you think they heard anything? Should I…hide or something?”

  
  
Jimmy held firm to her hips.

  
  
“No…maybe if we’re really quiet they’ll go away.”

  
  
The doorbell rang again, several times in a row, followed by pounding on the door.

  
  
“I know you’re in there Jimmy! You’d better open up before I wake up the neighbors!”

  
  
“Dammit, that’s my ex-wife.”

  
  
They scrambled to throw on their clothes that were strewn around the living room as the pounding persisted.

  
  
“You’d better head out the back” he said, giving her a quick kiss “I’ll call you later.”

  
  
As soon as Tina was safely outside, Jimmy answered the door to find Karen, looking ragged and furious.

  
  
“So what do I owe this displeasure?”

  
  
Karen shoved past him into the house.

  
  
“Please, come on in…” he said sarcastically.

  
  
“Where is she?” Karen demanded.

  
  
“Who?”

“That kid you’re messing around with.”

  
  
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he replied, careful to not drop his guard.

  
  
Karen poked him hard in the chest.

  
  
“Don’t lie to me, Jimmy. I know you’ve been fucking around with that Belcher girl.”

  
  
Jimmy paled.

  
  
_How could she know that?!_

“I know you’re been sleeping with her, and I’m here to put a stop to it.”

  
  
He became angry.

  
  
“Who I sleep with is none of your business! And besides…she’s legal.”

  
  
Karen rolled her eyes and sighed. “Jimmy, you’re old enough to be her father. For god’s sake, you’re almost 40!”

Jimmy ran a hand through his hair.

  
  
“That…that doesn’t matter to her. Or to me. We _genuinely_ like each other.”

  
  
She placed a hand on his arm. “It may not matter to you, but it _will_ matter to other people in this town. This could destroy your business. Your children would be affected. Tina would be ostracized. For their sake, and _hers_ , you need to end this.”

  
  
“And what if I don’t?”

  
  
“If you don’t, I’ll go to her family, and _they_ will end it.”

  
  
Jimmy hung his head.

  
  
He knew she was right. He had worked hard to not antagonize Bob when he started seeing Tina, and he couldn’t bear to see her shunned by her father because of him.

  
  
“Okay Karen. I’ll do it,”   
  


  
…  
  


  
“I don’t think we should be together anymore,” he told her the next time she came over.

  
  
“Why?” she had asked, tears streaming down her face. “I thought you…but I…”

  
  
She tried to embrace him, but he gently pushed her away.

  
  
“It’s just…you need to be with guys your own age. To experience life. You can’t do that with an old man like me.”

  
  
“It’s over Tina. You…you need to go. Get out!”

  
  
Tina ran out, sobbing, slamming the door hard behind her.

He hoped he had done the right thing.

  
…  
  


  
For the next year he watched her longingly from across the street.

  
  
At first, she would occasionally meet his gaze through their respective windows, quickly looking away when they locked eyes.

  
  
After a time, she didn’t look his way at all.

  
  
And then _he_ had moved in with the Belchers.

He was young, he was good looking, and worst of all, he was head over heels for Tina.

  
  
 _His_ Tina.

It was painful watching them develop a relationship. _He_ wanted to be the one hold, her, kiss her…make love to her.

  
  
When he felt he couldn’t take seeing them together anymore, he even contemplated moving his restaurant to a new location…and then their building had become condemned.

  
  
For the next month Jimmy breathed easy. He still missed her like crazy, but this was _definitely_ better than the heartache that had persisted for the last year.

  
  
That is, until she walked back into his life that October, on the evening of her 18th birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song mentioned is Tear her apart by She wants revenge in case anyone was wondering.


	8. 'Cause I'm Leaving, On A Jet Plane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina and Jimmy get away, while Zeke finds out Tina has moved on.

They decided to keep things more discrete this time, electing for Tina to call him by his full first name, rather than Jimmy if she ever needed to mention him, in case anyone put two and two together.

He rather liked her calling him James anyway.

He also insisted on spreading out their visits.

Jimmy was adamant that he didn’t want their relationship to affect her schoolwork.

She wanted to go to college, and he was damn sure he would not be the cause of her not getting there.  
  


They alternated between her coming over when he didn’t have the kids, making sure she used the rear entrance so as not to get caught this time, or occasionally he would park in a remote area close to the Belcher home, and sneak over to her guest house after dark.  
  
  
The second option ended after Bob had nearly caught them one evening, and Jimmy was forced to hide under Tina’s bed until the patriarch left, lamenting later that he had gotten rug burn on his ass having to slide under there so quickly.  
  
  
Some time to be together without the risk of prying eyes was doubtlessly needed.  
  


…  
  


  
With Tina in her senior year, it was much easier for her to find excuses to not be available for shifts at the restaurant, and eventually it became busy enough that Bob relented, and hired on additional help to cover.  
  
  
The kids’ friend Darryl ended up being a rather adept waiter, his compulsion for perfection and attention to detail were a refreshing change to their work environment.  
  
  
Bob was still worried about Tina though.  
  
  
After her breakup with Zeke, which both of them refused to give details on, no matter how much Bob and Linda pressed, she began to keep to herself a lot.

He had also noticed her sneaking out on occasion late at night.  
  
  
He hoped she wasn’t out doing drugs or other illicit activities, but she was keeping her grades up, and he wanted to give her the freedom to heal in her own way, in her own time.  
  
  
Which was why he was not particularly surprised when she announced at Thanksgiving dinner that she would not be home for Christmas.  
  
  
“Wha, Wha, What?!” Linda screeched. “It’s not Christmas without _all_ my babies here!”  
  
  
Tina sighed. “Mom, its not you, I just…I can’t here with Zeke home. I’m not ready for that yet. I need some time to think.”  
  
  
“Well, we’ll tell Zeke to go somewhere else then!” Linda huffed.  
  
  
“No mom, its okay. I’ve been saving, and I bought a ticket to go to Greece for three weeks. I want to this. I _need_ to do this.” Tina insisted, leaving out that she had not, in fact, purchased her ticket, but rather it had been a gift from someone else.  
  
  
“Lin, if this is what Tina says she wants, we should respect that. Zeke can stay in the guest house while she’s gone, and we’ll still have Christmas like we always do.”  
  
  
Linda crossed her arms and pouted, but did not further protest.  
  


  
…  
  


  
Less than a month later they saw Tina off at the airport, barely getting her there in time.

Linda had kept finding reasons to delay them leaving, hoping that _just maybe_ Tina would miss her flight and have to stay home.  
  
  
Bob finally put his foot down, and threatened to leave her behind if she wasn’t in the car in five minutes, which finally got her moving.  
  
  
Tina quickly said her goodbyes to her family at security, promising to email lots of pictures, and call a few times a week.  
  
  
Sprinting to the gate, she made it just before they closed the doors.  
  
  
Maneuvering to the plush first class seat her ticket directed her to, she stowed her carry-on bag, and plopped into her seat, exhausted.  
  
  
“I was almost afraid you wouldn’t make it” a voice said to her left.  
  
  
She turned and pulled the source of the voice in for a passionate kiss.  
  
  
“I would have swam there if I had to, James.”  
  
  
For the next three weeks they could be just like any other couple, not having to hide their affections.

…  
  


When the beat-up old station wagon pulled up outside the culinary school piloted by Gene, Zeke got a little worried.

_Did they find out what happened between him and Tina?_

_She had sent him a text the week prior and had said that she didn't say anything because she knew how much they cared about him, but what if she had changed her mind?_

Gene rolled down the window and yelled, "Get your nuts in the car! We have places to be and cakes to eat."

Zeke breathed a sigh of relief.

_If Gene was joking, maybe things were okay._

There was an uncomfortable silence for the first hour of the trip.

"So...uh...where are Mr. B and Mama B?"

"Dad's at the restaurant and Mom's decorating the house" Gene rolled his eyes "You know how overboard she gets."

Zeke leaned his head against the window.

It sounded like it was business as usual with the Belchers.

Gene pulled over at a rest stop and killed the engine, shifting in his seat to face Zeke.

"Are we going to talk about this before we get back to the house or am I going to have to sick Louise on you?"

Zeke shifted nervously.

"I uh...don't know what you mean."

Gene reached a out and placed a hand on the older boy's shoulder.

"You know exactly what I mean. What happened with Tina?"

Zeke hesitated.

He really needed to tell _someone_ about it, and with J Ju not talking to him since he had started dating Tina, he had no one he could confide in.

"Can I trust you to keep this between us? I don't want the rest of the family to find out how much I fucked up."

"It can't be THAT bad!"

Zeke hung his head. "You have no idea, man."

He began to fill Gene in.

...

A short while later Gene shifted forward in his seat again, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

'Wow Z...that…that’s pretty messed up."

"Don't you think I know that?!

Not a day has gone by that I'm not kicking myself in the berries mentally.

How could I have done that to her?

To T-bird.

To the girl I have been in love with since I first laid eyes on her.”  
  
  
Zeke face planted the dashboard.

"You need to fix this Zeke."

Sitting up he ran his hand through his thick wavy hair. "I know Gene. I know. I was hoping I could win her back while I'm home for a visit.

You know, take her ice skatin, to see the Christmas lights around town - all that romantic kinda stuff she loves!"

"That...that might be kind of difficult."

"What do ya mean?"

"Well...she may or may not be on her way to Greece right now. And by may, I mean definitely."

"She just went to Greece."

"Yep."

"For Christmas."

"Yep."

"With WHO?"

"Well she _said_ by herself, but I'm not sure if that's the truth."

Zeke felt like someone had sent his heart through a food processor.

"So do ya...do ya think she moved on?"

"Hard to tell. She hasn't talked about anyone, which is weird, but she also wasn't mopey like she usually is after a breakup. Its kinda odd, really."

Zeke had to find out.  
  
  
To do that, he’d have to ask the keeper of secrets.

...

_Hey Tim Tam._

_Ugh. What Zeke?  
U know I like girls now n I don't want 2 date u right?_

_Not about that Tam. I wanted 2 ask u about Tina._

_Y? U guys broke up._

_I know. Do u know if she got a new bf?_

_Bf? No. Im her bf._

_Not bf. BF._

_Oh. Y?_

_Nunya Tam. Just tell me._

_Don't be such a Pissy Pecker._

_No. She isn't dating ne guys @school_

_Thanks Tam._

_Wait. Wb outside school._

_Mmm maybe_

_She mentioned sum guy a month ago._

_Who?!_

_Fuck if i know._

_Starts with a J I think._

_Jerry?_

_Jack?_

_James?_

_I think it was James._

_Think or know?_

_Think dammit._

_Now go away._

_Jocelyn is over and UR are interrupting STUFF. Oh & she says hi._

_My bad._

_Thanks Tam._

_Hi Jocelyn._

...

"Any luck?"

"Yeah, Tammy said she mentioned a guy whose name started with a "J". She said she _thinks_ its James."

"Like Jimmy Junior?"

Zeke snorted. "He's gayer than Liberace at a pride parade. No way was she talking about him."  
  


"And besides, Tammy said he doesn't go to your school."

Gene swerved the car suddenly.

"What the hell Gene?! Watch yer drivin! What's gotten into ya?"

"I...I think I know who she was talking about."

"Who?!" Zeke demanded.

Gene shook his head. "No, dude. As the large brother in this family, I'll take care of it."

His terse reply had Zeke concerned.

Just who had Tina gotten herself mixed up with?

...

Gene generally tried to stay out of his sisters’ personal lives.

While he lived for drama, there were some lines even _he_ didn't want to cross.

But he had made an exception when Tina was 16.

He had found her real diary, not the decoy one she kept barely hidden for their mother and Louise to find, but her REAL one.

She had been sneaking out a lot and he was worried.

He became even more worried when he found that she was sneaking out because she had been dating their father's rival, Jimmy Pesto.

She gushed in her diary about him, losing her virginity, and that she thought he was falling for her.

Gene felt sick.

This predator had sweet talked her sister into sleeping with him.

_He had to do something._

He thought about going to their parents, but she would never forgive him, and he was afraid his father might just murder Pesto over this one.

_He needed to be subtle_.

But first, he needed to be sure.

The next night Gene followed her when she snuck out, following her straight to the Pesto residence.

He watched angrily from the shadows as Jimmy Pesto swept her into his arms at the door, kissing her, before pulling her inside.

Gene shook his head.

He didn’t want to think about what was happening next.

Now that he had seen it with his own eyes, he needed to do something.

He wandered for a bit before locating a pay phone with a still intact phone book.

Flipping to the ‘P’s’ he scrolled his finger down until he found the name he was looking for.

Plunking a few quarters into the machine, he punched in the number.

It rang a few times before a groggy sounding woman answered.

“Hello?! _Do you know what time it is_?”

"Mrs. Pesto?"

"Yes?"

"We need to talk"

...

Gene met with Karen Pesto after school the next day.

He relayed everything he had discovered, and they both agreed that the relationship needed to end, each having their own reasons.  
  
  
Gene for the fact that his sister’s boyfriend was old enough to be her father, and Karen over the concern that if the locals found out, the restaurant would shut down, and that would be the end of her alimony.

Karen went over to Jimmy’s place that evening and threatened to expose his relationship with the teenage girl if he didn’t end things, which he did reluctantly.

Tina had moped for a bit before eventually bouncing back, and in time, moving on to date Zeke.

Gene felt he was a much better match for her anyway.

But now it appeared they had gotten back together, and had somehow done so without anyone finding out.  
  
  
_How long had it gone on THIS time?_

  
After the family was asleep the day he picked up Zeke, he called Karen, updating her on the new information.

Karen hung up, promising to take care of it again.

For good this time.

...

Zeke tossed his duffle bag onto the floor of the guest house and took a deep breath.

The smell of Tina's Jasmine perfume still lingered.

This was going to be a rough few weeks being here in what was once _their_ place.

He plopped onto the bed and squeezed her pillow to his chest, further inhaling her scent.

His heart ached with how much he missed her.

Sniffing again there was another, more masculine scent underlying her soft floral one.  
  
  
It smelled like…pomade?

It was so familiar…but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.  
  
  
Zeke rolled off the bed, stripping the sheets and blankets to toss them in the wash.  
  
  
No way was he going to sleep on these when they still smelled like _him_.

…

While Zeke waited for the washer and dryer to do their thing, removing any evidence of the owner of the pomade, he deposited some gifts under the tree for his host family.  
  
  
_Some ninja stars for Louise.  
  
  
A new stand for Gene’s keyboard.  
  
_

_A bracelet for Linda.  
  
_

_An obscure cookbook for Bob._

_  
And for Tina, a vintage jewelry box, with a hidden compartment containing his grandmother’s ring, and a letter he had spent the last month writing and re-writing, hoping he could get her forgiveness and win her back.  
  
  
But now…how was he supposed to do that if she had moved on?_


	9. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jimmy and Tina arrive in Greece and meet up with a surprising figure from his past.
> 
> Zeke finally figures out the identity of James.

“Sir, your daughter will need to get back into her own seat. We'll be landing soon, and the captain has turned on the fasten seat belts sign.”

Jimmy looked down at Tina who was curled up in his lap, fast asleep.

His face reddened and he stammered, "She's uh...not my daughter."

The stewardess raised an eyebrow, silently chiding him for their clear age difference, before moving on down the aisle to check on other passengers.

Jimmy ran a thumb down Tina's cheek, her eyes fluttering open.

“Hey sleepy head, we're getting ready to land.”

Tina mumbled something unintelligible before sliding back to her own seat, buckling in, and promptly falling back asleep.

Jimmy chuckled. That one could sleep through anything.  
  


...  
  


Stepping out of the airport they squinted in the bright sun. After 14 combined hours in flight, plus a 6 hour layover in Munich, they were dead on their feet.  
  


Jimmy hailed a cab, and gave the address to the driver in Greek.  
  


After they had slid into the vehicle, Tina gave him an appraising look.

  
“So…since when do you speak Greek?”  
  
  
“Wait…did we never talk about this?”  
  
  
“No.”  
  
  
“Oh! Well, I actually lived in Greece until I was about 7. I still have family here even.”

  
  
“And you’re just _now_ telling me?!”  
  
  
“I’m sorry Tina! I didn’t think it mattered!”

  
Tina sat back heavily against the seat and folded her arms.  
  
  
“It shouldn’t, but it still bothers me that there are things about you I don’t know. Important things like the fact that you speak fluent Greek!”  
  
  
Jimmy wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him, planting a kiss on top of her head.  
  
  
“We have three whole weeks for you to get to know every single detail about me. Anything you want.”  
  
  
“No more secrets?”  
  
  
“No more secrets.”  
  
  
She gave him a soft, lingering kiss.  
  
  
“Okay. But you’re going to make it up to me as soon as we get to the hotel room.”  
  
  
Jimmy gave her a devilish grin.  
  
  
“Not that, you perv!” she said, smacking him lightly on the arm.  
  
  
Now it was Jimmy’s turn to feign a pout.  
  


  
…

Their first week in Greece was spent hitting up standard tourist locations.  
  
  
Feeling a bit paranoid, Tina had insisted that they do two sets of photos. One with her camera, featuring only her, framed with the various attractions they hit up, and the second on Jimmy’s for anything with the two of them together.  
  
  
She wasn’t sure why, but had always felt nervous about keeping any photos or evidence of their relationship on any of her electronic devices.  
  
  
In the evenings, she called her family via Skype, careful to set her laptop up as to not elude that she was sharing her hotel room with anyone else.  
  
  
Jimmy took these times as an opportunity to hit the hotel gym and spa, as well as shopping within close distance for souvenirs to bring home to their respective families.  
  
  
After one such Skype call, in which her mother was being especially passive aggressive about her absence over the holiday, Jimmy returned to the room to find Tina pacing, grumbling under her breath.  
  


“Tina? Babe? Is everything okay?”  
  
  
Tina stopped short.  
  
  
“No!” she shouted “everything is NOT okay.”  
  
  
Jimmy pulled her to his chest as she started sobbing.  
  
  
“She just- she won’t stop trying to make me feel guilty about not being home. I’m sick of it!”  
  
  
Jimmy tilted her chin up and kissed her gently.  
  
  
“Would it help if we spent the rest of our time here somewhere there was no internet or cell service for her to bother you?”  
  
  
Tina gave him a quizzical look.  
  
  
“What did you have in mind?”  
  
  
“How would you like to spend the next two weeks on the island?”  
  
  
“Island?”  
  
  
“Yeah, Santorini. It’s gorgeous. You’ll love it!”  
  
  
“And they have _no_ internet or cell service?”  
  
  
“Well they do, technically. But it can be a bit spotty, and Linda likely won’t know any better if you tell her there is none.”  
  
  
Tina didn’t like lying to her mother, but she was already in deep considering she was on a romantic vacation for three weeks with a man more than twice her age, who just happened to be her father’s mortal enemy.  
  
  
“You know what. Let’s do it.”  
  
  
Jimmy picked her up and spun her around.

_He couldn’t wait to show her off to his family.  
  
_

  
…

Zeke bustled around the small kitchen in the guest house.  
  
  
He had been charged with making the Christmas dinner dessert, and he was planning on knocking their socks off.  
  
  
A soft knock sounded at the door.  
  
  
“Come in!” Zeke hollered, not wanting to risk the pears on the stove burning.  
  
  
He glanced towards the door, expecting one of the Belchers, but was instead greeted by the ginger haired dancer who had blown him off since he had started dating Tina.  
  
  
“Hey…Zeke…” Jimmy Jr. said nervously “it’s been awhile.”  
  
  
Zeke folded his arms across his broad chest.  
  
  
“Sure has, J Ju. What brings you ‘round?”  
  
  
“I, uh, was hoping we could talk.”  
  
  
Zeke sighed, lowering his arms.  
  
  
“Sure J Ju. You talk while I finish poaching these pears.”  
  
  
Jimmy Jr. drummed his fingers nervously on the counter.  
  
  
“So, I heard you and Tina broke up.”  
  
  
“Yep.”  
  
  
“Do you want to talk about it?”  
  
  
“Nope.”  
  
  
“Fair enough."  
"Look, I wanted to apologize for how I acted after you guys started dating. I was just jealous. I mean, how are you supposed to feel when your first love moves on?”  
  
  
Zeke snorted.  
  
  
“Thought you didn’t like girls.”  
  
  
“Not Tina, stupid. YOU.”

Zeke dropped the wooden spoon in his hand, his eyes growing wide in surprise.  
  
  
Jimmy Jr. walked around the counter, grabbing the front of Zeke’s shirt and pulled him into a hard kiss.

Zeke gently pushed him away.

“Sorry J Ju, but I don’t feel the same.”  
  
  
Jimmy Junior looked crushed.

“But that one time you let me…”  
  
  
Zeke put up a hand to stop him.  
  
  
“That was a one-time thing J Ju. I shouldn’t have let it happen, and I _definitely_ shouldn’t have led you on.”  
  
  
The ginger haired boy wrapped his arms around himself in consolation.  
  
  
“Besides, aren’t you with Josh?”  
  
  
Jimmy Jr. ran a hand through his hair.  
  
  
“Yeah, I guess. He’s just a little distant right now, Julliard keeps him busy, you know? It’ll be easier once I’m there next year too.”  
  
  
He grinned sheepishly.  
  
  
“Sorry for throwing myself at you like that.”  
  
  
Zeke clapped a large hand on his back.  
  
  
“No hard feelings. I just want us all to be friends again.”  
  
  
“I want that too.”  
  
  
“And that includes Tina.”  
  
  
“But didn’t you guys…?”  
  
  
“Yeah, but I want you to be nicer to her. You can’t expect her to live off Tammy alone.”  
  
  
They had a good laugh about that one.  
  
  
“So what are you making here?”  
  
  
“Ginger layer cake with poached pears and cream cheese frosting.”  
  
  
“Wow Zeke. That sounds really complicated.”

“Aww, it’s not that bad. The trickiest part is poaching the pears. Especially when you have to get a bottle of wine out of Mama B. She does not like to share her wine.”  
  
  
Jimmy Junior laughed. “I bet. So where _is_ Tina? Is she at the restaurant or something?”  
  
  
“Naw, she’s off on vacation for Christmas. Was hoping to talk to her while I was home on break, maybe with her back, but nope. She’s off in Greece for three weeks.”  
  
  
“Huh.”  
  
  
“Wut?”  
  
  
“Greece must be a popular holiday destination.”  
  
  
“What do ya mean?”  
  
  
“Well my dad is in Greece for Christmas too. He’s visiting my great grandma.”  
  
  
Zeke froze as the gears began to turn in his head.  
  
  
_Jimmy Pesto was in Greece for Christmas.  
  
  
Jimmy Pesto.  
  
  
Jimmy.  
  
  
James.  
  
_

_The smell of pomade on Tina’s pillow.  
  
  
Holy shit! Tina’s new boyfriend was Jimmy fucking Pesto! _

_And Gene KNEW._

_He knew and he didn’t say anything._

_Did Mr. B know?_

_Did Mama B?_

_How long had this been going on?_

“You okay Zeke?” Jimmy Junior asked, snapping him back to reality.  
  
  
“Yeah J Ju. Just thinking about…this cake.”  
  
  
“Oh. Yeah. I should probably let you get back to it.”  
  
  
“Thanks man. I’ll drop you a call later.”

Jimmy Junior left, curious as to the reaction Zeke had at the mention of his father’s vacation.

_It was just a vacation, after all_.

…

Zeke finished up the cake, forcing himself to put this new revelation out of his mind.  
  
  
He sent a text to Gene, asking him to come over after work. Alone.  
  
  
Gene was going to tell him _everything_.

…

Gene burst in the door.  
  
  
“I’m here! I’m queer! …and I forget the rest.”  
  
  
Zeke didn’t look amused.  
  
  
“What’s up, Z-man?”  
  
  
Zeke gave him an uncharacteristically stern look. “Come on Gene. Let’s go talk in the living room. Louise isn’t with you, is she?”  
  
  
“No, she’s out with Jessica.”  
  
  
“Good.”  
  
  
Zeke took a deep breath.  
  
  
“Tina’s boyfriend. James.”  
  
  
“Yeah? What about him?”  
  
  
“It’s Jimmy Pesto, isn’t it?”

“Jimmy Jr? No. He likes the peen, remember?”  
  
  
“You know damn well I mean Pesto Senior.”  
  
  
Gene’s shoulder’s slumped.  
  
  
“How’d you figure it out?”  
  
  
Zeke ran a hand down his face. “I honestly don’t know how I didn’t figure it out sooner. Maybe I just didn’t want to see it.”

He sighed.

“She wrote about him in one of her fictions she let me read. It was pretty graphic and she said it wasn’t like that. I just never thought…”

Gene nodded his head. “I read the one you are talking about. And as far as I know, that’s not how it happened.”  
  
  
“It’s not? So what DID happen?"  
  
  
“Well, do you remember the parties Jimmy Jr used to have all the time at his dad’s place last summer?”  
  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
  
“According to her diary, the first time was at one of those.”

“Did he force himself her when she was drunk?! That bastard!”  
  
  
“No…I don’t think so. From what she wrote, it was consensual.”  
  
  
“It started as them just hooking up, and eventually turned into a relationship.”  
  
  
“Wait…they dated last year? How did you think to look in her diary?”

  
“She was sneaking out a lot, and I was worried she was on drugs or something, so I read her diary. Her _real_ diary, not the fake one she leaves out for mom and Louise.”  
“After I read about the thing with Pesto, I followed her one night to make sure, and I saw it with my own eyes.”  
  
  
“So what did you do?”  
  
  
“I thought about telling mom and dad, or even Louise, but I knew that if I did, they’d probably kill him, and everyone in town would find out. So, I called up Jimmy’s ex-wife, filled her in, and she took care of it.”  
  
  
“What did she do?”

“Threatened to expose their relationship, which would tank his business. You don’t date a 16 year old when you’re almost 40 and expect everyone to just be okay with it.”

Zeke fell back onto the couch, stunned. “I guess it didn’t work, because apparently they’re back together.”

“Yeah. I’m not sure when that happened, but if I had to guess, it must have been not long after you two broke up, because she didn’t go through her normal grieving period like last time.”  
  
  
“Last time?”  
  
  
“Remember that whole Logan thing? That was her blowing off steam and grieving. It happened like a week after Karen threatened him.”  
  
  
Zeke hung his head.

_That explained Tina’s odd behavior that weekend.  
  
  
She had gotten completely trashed and had practically let Logan fuck her in front of the entire frat house and had then tried to hook up with him after Logan was finished using her._

_Had their entire relationship been a rebound?_

He shook his head.  
  


_No. That had been real._

_She had loved him._

_She must have._

_Then he fucked up._

_And she went back to HIM._

“So what can we do this time? I mean he’s still twice her age, but she’s legally an adult now.”  
  
  
“Don’t worry about it. I called Karen up the other day-”  
  


“Karen?”

“Mrs. Pesto. I called her up and she said she’d take care of it for good this time.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know, but if it doesn’t work, I’m afraid dad might find out. It would kill him.”

Zeke sighed. “So, we have to keep this to ourselves, huh?”

“Unfortunately, yes. We can’t even tell Louise. You know how she gets.”

Zeke heaved himself off the couch and retrieved a few beers from the fridge, handing one to Gene.

“I know you’re not old enough for that,” he said, gesturing at the bottle “but I think we both need one right about now.”  
  
  
  
Gene had no argument for that, and the boys sipped their beers in silence, both thinking about the raven haired girl they loved.

…

The barge trip had not been fun for Tina, despite the beautiful view.  
  
  
She found the rolling waves made her violently seasick.  
  
  
“You okay, babe?” Jimmy asked, rubbing her back.

“Yeah, just glad to be back on dry land.”

Tina touched his arm. "James...is everything...alright? You've been kind of tense today."

"I'm just, nervous I guess."

"Why?"

Jimmy sighed.

"Because I have never brought a girl home to meet my family. Not even Karen. Hell, they haven't even seen the boys except in the pictures I send."

Tina was quiet for a minute before swinging around and punching him hard in the arm.

"What the hell James?! Why didn't you tell me I was meeting your family?"

"Please don't be mad Tina.."

"I'm not mad," she said, giving him another shot in the arm "I just would have liked some warning to maybe look nicer, or learn ANYTHING about them before hand."

“I’ll tell you as much as I can remember.”  
  
  
"Talk fast, pizza man.”  
  
  
"So as you already know, my last name was not always Pesto, it was Poplopavich."

"Okay..."

"That was my mother's name from her second husband. He's Croatian."  
  


"Most of my family is actually Greek, and until I was about 7, when my mom and step-dad moved to the US, I actually grew up right here on this island."

"That's really weird that you never mentioned it."

“Most of them passed away a long time ago, so there wasn’t really anything to tell. It’s just my grandma left on my dad’s side, and an uncle on my mom’s, who is god only knows where.”

Jimmy suddenly beamed at her. “I can’t wait introduce you to my Ya-Ya though.”  
  
  
“Your what?!”  
  
  
Jimmy laughed. “Ya-Ya. It means grandma.”  
  
  
Tina shot him a dirty look. “She lives on the island?! Why didn’t you tell me?! I could have put on something more formal, some makeup, did my hair…”  
  
  
He gripped her shoulders, then pulled her into an embrace.  
  
  
“You look beautiful just as you are. Don’t worry, she’s going to love you!”

Tina groaned. “But I’m just so nervous! What am I going to talk to her about?”

“Literature, wine, that devilishly handsome guy you’re sleeping with…”

“Oh? Which one?” she winked at him.

…

Jimmy pulled up their rental car in front of a beautiful vineyard.

_It was much larger than he remembered._  
  
  
Tina gaped at the beautiful villa in front of them.  
  
  
“Oh yeah, I forgot to mention my family owns a vineyard.”

They exited the vehicle a small woman, as wrinkled as a raisin toddled out of the house, bracing herself on a wooden cane, worn smooth from age.  
  
  
“Denis? Is that you?” she asked, squinting.  
  
  
“Denis?” Tina inquired, giving Jimmy a puzzled look.  
  
  
“Yes, its my middle name, I’ll explain later.”  
  
  
“Ya-Ya! It’s so good to see you! You look as beautiful as ever!”

Jimmy reached out to embrace her but was instead greeted with a swat on the head with the elderly woman’s cane.

“You have been gone for over 30 years, Denis! How dare you not call your ya-ya or come to visit!”  
  
  
“I wrote letters!” Jimmy protested between cane smacks, before she threw her arms around him, satisfied he had been punished enough.

“You have gotten so big, Denis! Just like your papa.”

A sad look crossed his face.

“That’s…thank you ya-ya.”

Jimmy suddenly remembered he wasn’t alone.

“Ya-Ya, I brought someone I want you meet.”  
  
  
“Is this your daughter?”  
  
  
Jimmy’s face turned bright red. “Umm, no ya-ya, I have boys, remember? This is my girlfriend, Tina.”  
  
  
“Tina, this is my Ya-Ya Theia.”

Tina reached out to shake her hand, but was instead pulled into a tight hug.  
  
  
“Please dear, call me ya-ya.”  
  
  
Tina smiled, returning the old woman’s grasp. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ya-ya.”

Theia led them around the back of the villa to a quaint patio, and sat down, gesturing for Jimmy and Tina to do the same.  
  
  
“Ya-Ya, may I ask why you call him Denis?”

Theia snorted, seemingly annoyed at the question.

“It is custom in our culture to name the first born son after their grandfather on their father’s side. _James_ should have been named Denis. But his mother wouldn’t have it.”  
“She conceded and made it his middle name, so we still call him Denis anyway. Just to anger her.”

Tina laughed.  
  
  
_His grandmother was so feisty!_

“So Denis, tell me about your life in America.”

Jimmy spent the next few hours telling his grandmother about his restaurant, his boys, and a PG version of how Tina and Jimmy had gotten together.  
  
  
Theia didn’t make it to the ripe old age of 96 by being a fool, and suspected it wasn’t the whole truth, but was satisfied that the young girl accompanying her grandson made him happy, so she wouldn’t press it further.  
  
  
Sensing he would like to speak to her alone, she asked Tina to go into the wine cellar and to select a wine for dinner, anticipating that her lack of experience with the beverage would keep her occupied for a while.

After she was out of earshot, Theia turned to Jimmy and gave him a scrutinizing look.  
  
  
“Was there something you’d like to talk to me about?”  
  
  
Jimmy squirmed nervously. “Yeah…I…umm.”  
  
  
“Spit it out, boy!” she scolded, tapping him on the calf with her cane.  
  
  
“I wanted to ask you for the family ring.”  
  
  
“Oh? Why is that?”  
  
  
A dreamy look bloomed on his face.  
  
  
“I’m going to ask her to marry me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! <3


	10. At Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner, dancing, Christmas, and keg stands!

Jimmy watched Tina as she slept.

She was on her stomach, her long dark hair fanned out around her, making her look rather wild.

_And she was._

His grandmother had offered the couple the use of a beach-side villa that the family had kept for use as a guest house, but in reality it had been the home he had grown up in as a small child.

_His father’s home._

Aside from a few family photos hung on the white stone walls, it seemed closer to an Air B&B than anything resembling the family home once was.

But it was still beautiful, and Tina had fallen in love with it in an instant, insisting that they leave the door to the balcony open so she could watch the sun set on the ocean as they made love that evening.

Jimmy just hoped no one wandering nearby could hear them. Tina tended to get a bit loud.

The beach was part of the property though and was typically deserted. The only sounds, aside from her cries of pleasure, that could be heard for miles was the waves on sand, and the occasional gull calling out.

_It was paradise._

Reminiscing the previous evening, Jimmy lightly ran a hand down her bare exposed back, causing her to murmur in her sleep.

He brushed her hair aside and began trailing gentle kisses from the nape of her neck, down her back.

She stirred, rolling onto her side, exposing her full breasts as her eyes fluttered open.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he greeted her, before capturing her mouth in his, bringing a hand to stroke an already hardened nipple.

Tina moaned against his mouth as his hand moved down her stomach, between her legs, finding her already wet and willing.

Gently stroking along the outside of her slit, he slipped a finger inside of her lips to find her clit, causing her legs to briefly tremor.

Giving her a final kiss, he licked and sucked his way down her front, pausing to nip at her hip bones before gently spreading her legs and burying his face between them.

He looked up to see Tina arching her back, grasping at the sheets as waves of pleasure washed over her as he licked and sucked her innermost parts.

Jimmy flicked and twirled his tongue, as if she were a delicate instrument that he knew how to play expertly.

“Please. James. I need you,” she panted.

Wiping her arousal off his face, he positioned himself at her entrance, teasing her by inserting just the tip.

She growled her impatience, before he slowly slid the remainder of his hardened shaft inside of her.

Rocking her hips to meet his thrusts, she dug her nails into his back, biting his shoulder as she reached orgasm.

Not quite finished, he flipped her over onto her hands and knees, repenetrating her from behind, gripping her hips as he increased momentum, groaning her name as he came.

They fell back onto the bed, a thin sheen of sweat covering their naked bodies, already exhausted even though their day had just begun.

Tina laid her head on his heaving chest.

“I wish I could be woken up like that every morning.”

“Someday, love. Someday.”

…

After a shower, which resulted in another love making round, requiring the need for a second shower, Jimmy presented Tina with a black garment bag.

“What’s this?” she asked with a smile.

“I saw it in a boutique back in Athens and thought you could wear it tonight.”

Tina kissed him on the cheek before unzipping the bag.

Inside was a gorgeous black low-cut mermaid style dress, with thin straps, a deep cut back, and embroidered roses.

“Oh, James!” she gasped. “It’s beautiful! What’s the occasion?”

“We’re meeting ya-ya for dinner.”

“This is awfully fancy for dinner…”

“Don’t worry about it, you’ll fit right in,” he assured her, brushing his lips across her temple.  
“Well? Are you going to see if I got the right fit?”

She grinned at him then made a dash for the bathroom.

“It’s perfect!” she squealed a few moments later.

“Can I see it?”

“Not until tonight.”

“Ugh. Fine. Get dressed and we’ll head out and explore the market. Maybe we can find you some shoes to go with it.”

“Dressed? You mean I can’t shop naked?” she teased.

“Hmm…I don’t know how I’d feel about everyone else getting to see you in the buff. Pretty sure I want to keep that view to myself.”

“Oh, you’re no fun.”

She emerged from the bathroom clad in a pair of white shorts and a cute orange peasant top, her hair thrown up hastily into a bun.

Jimmy strode over to her, picking her up, tossing her over his shoulder.

“To the car!”

…

To Tina’s delight they found a shoe store rather quickly that had just the type of footwear she was looking for.

While she browsed, Jimmy ducked out and snuck into a vintage jewelry store he had spotted nearby.

His eye was immediately drawn to a gold and ruby necklace and earring set that would be the perfect accompaniment for Tina’s attire tonight.

As the jeweler was wrapping up his purchase, he received a text from Tina letting him know she had found what she needed, and asking where he had gotten off to.

Hoping she wouldn’t ask what was in the small parcel, he sprinted back to the boutique.

Thankfully, she was too distracted by all the sights and sounds around her to notice.

After a full day of shopping they returned to the villa with enough time to freshen up with a shower and a short nap before meeting up with Theia.

Tina sat at the vanity carefully applying her makeup and putting her hair into an elegant chignon.

Stepping into her new dress she called Jimmy in to assist her in zipping up the back.

He breathed in sharply at the sight of her. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you look tonight?”

He was rewarded with a dazzling smile.

“Enough sweet talk pizza man. Zip me up, then I need your help putting my shoes on. I can’t quite reach that far in this dress.”

Jimmy obliged, sliding a hand up her long legs after he buckled them into place.

“You keep getting handsy like that and you’ll be having to take this dress BACK off, and we’ll be late.”

Jimmy chuckled. “You’re right, we can resume this later tonight.”

Tina pressed a firm kiss to his lips. “Are we ready then?”

“Almost.”

Jimmy pulled out the parcel from earlier, removed the necklace and draped it around her neck, fastening it into place.

“James! This…this is...” she rapidly blinked, trying to hold back tears that would run her mascara “this is the most exquisite gift anyone has ever given me!”

“It looks like it was made for you,” he murmured into her neck, inhaling the scent of her perfume. “Oh! There are earrings too.”

He handed her the box so she could put on the rest of the set.

Stepping back from the mirror to admire her full ensemble, she beamed at him.

“James, its perfect. It’s all perfect! Thank you!”

“Anything for my favorite girl.”

Before she could reply a car horn sounded outside.

“That must be the car ya-ya sent.”

Grabbing a wrap in case she got chilly, they left the villa to find a luxurious town car, complete with a uniformed driver waiting for them.

…

The town car pulled up at a charming restaurant built into a cliff side, overlooking the ocean.

Like many homes and buildings on the islands, it was built primarily out of white stone, featuring an open-air patio with a large dance floor and soft glow hanging lights.

They were ushered to a table, Theia already waiting for them.

She rose, embracing Tina affectionately, kissing her on both of her cheeks before doing to same to Jimmy.

They chatted cheerfully through the courses, even posing for a group photo when a hired photographer came around, sandwiching Theia in the middle, large smiles on all of their faces.

After dinner, Jimmy led his grandmother to the dance floor, joining a group of revelers in a traditional Greek Ikariotikos. Tina snapped a quick photo with her cell phone, loving how graceful and happy they looked.

After the routine ended, Jimmy approached the DJ, speaking to him quickly, and slipping him some cash.

_I wonder what he’s up to._

As the first few notes rang out across the patio, her heart fluttered.

_She couldn’t believe he asked them to play their song._

Jimmy held his hand out to her, “May I have this dance?”

Taking his hand, she let him lead her onto the dance floor as the vocals of Etta James began.

He twirled her around in a close waltz, lost in their moment, their dance, the world silent around them other than their song.

_At last my love has come along_   
_My lonely days are over and life is like a song, oh yeah_   
_At last the skies above are blue_   
_My heart was wrapped up clover the night I looked at you_

_She had never been gladder that he had taught her how to ballroom dance years ago._

_This was the song he had first taught her to waltz to, and any time they danced, they always began with it._

As the song ended, Jimmy leaned Tina into a dip, pressing his forehead to hers affectionately, as the other guests clapped.

Suddenly snapped back to reality, they both flushed red and scurried back to their seats.

Theia clasped her hands together, “That was beautiful!”

Jimmy brushed a kiss onto Tina’s cheek.

The rest of the evening was more subdued, as they finished off their meal with coffee and Revani.

Sleepy, and quite full, Jimmy and Tina hugged Theia goodbye, promising to join her in a few days for Christmas dinner, which typically consisted of just close friends of hers, but she was thrilled to be able to include them this year.

As Jimmy helped Tina into the car the venue photographer chased them down and shoved a black folder into Jimmy’s hand containing the photo he had taken of them.

Jimmy’s heart skipped a beat.  
  


_They looked like a little happy family._   
  


Noticing another print tucked behind the first, he found that the photographer had also captured the final moments of their dance.

He slid it back behind the first photograph.

_This would be perfect to have framed and surprise her with later._

Sliding into the backseat, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close for the rest of the ride back to the villa.

He couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life with her.

…

Christmas, while Louise and Gene tried to make it more cheerful, was a somber affair.

It could be read easily in everyone’s eyes.

_They missed Tina._

Everyone passed out their gifts, a few parcels for Tina remaining under the tree, followed by Bob’s delicious as usual meal, that everyone mostly picked at.

Zeke’s cake had been a hit though, with every slice demolished. Even Gayle, who thought the cake looked “weird” helped herself to a second slice.

Suddenly Gayle shot up.

“Oh! I have news!”

“What is it, Gayle?” Bob asked, his exasperation poorly masked.

“I’m getting married!”

“What?!” everyone shouted at once.

“How can you get married, Gayle? You don’t even have a boyfriend!” Linda pointed out.

“That’s right, Linda. I don’t have a boyfriend. I have a fiancé. And her name is Nat.”

Louise perked up.

“Wait wait wait. Nat. Like as in the limo driver Nat?”

“Yeah! How’d you know?”

“Oh my god this is just too good,” Louise laughed to herself.

“Gayle, honey, Nat has been a friend of the family for years! Why didn’t you tell us you two were seeing each other?”

“Well you didn’t tell me when you got that new pair of jeans a few weeks ago.”

“You were with me when I bought them!”

“Oh. Right. Well now you know.”

“This. Is. Wonderful!!” Linda shouted. “We need to go pick out flowers and a dress, or two dresses…does Nat wear dresses?”

“Calm down, Lin. I’m sure Gayle and Nat want to plan their own wedding.”

“But she’s my sister!”

“That’s right Bob. _She’s my sister._ And despite any lingering feelings you might have for me, I’m going to marry that woman. That husky, quirky, limo driving woman.”

“I’m so happy for you Gayle!”

“Thanks Linda. And you can plan my wedding. Can we have it here? And Bob can cater?”

Bob began to protest but was soon interrupted. “Of course, we can! Now let’s call Mom and Dad to tell them the great news. And Tina! I hope she has cell reception where she’s at so we can call her too.”

…

After an ear-splitting phone call to their parents, both of their hearing having depleted further over the last few years, Linda dialed Tina’s number.

“Merry Christmas!” Tina greeted her cheerfully.

“Merry Christmas, Tina Bina! I hope you aren’t too lonely all out there by yourself.”

“No, I’m okay,” she replied, terse in her annoyance at the light passive aggression.

“So, I called because I have something to tell you.”

“Oh no. Is Dad dead? Are Gene and Louise okay?!”

“Calm down, everyone is okay. Better than okay, in fact. Your Aunt Gayle just got engaged!”

“Oh wow! That’s amazing!”  
“My Aunt just got engaged!” she shouted to someone away from the phone.

Suddenly, cheers of “Opa!” could be heard loudly in the background, one voice in particular standing out to Linda.

Linda racked her brain. “Tina, is that Jimmy Pesto?” she asked.

_Cursing her impulsiveness, Tina had to come up with a lie._

_A believable lie._

_And quick._

“Yeah, mom, I’m at his grandmother’s vineyard. I ran into him while I was exploring Santorini. Small world huh? Anyway, he invited me to spend the holiday with his family so I wouldn’t have to be alone.”

_Please believe it. Please…please…please…_

“Aww that’s so sweet of him. I told your father he’s not all bad.”

_Oh thank god, she bought it._

“I’d better go, mom, they’re serving dessert.”

“Have fun, sweetie! And bring mommy some wine!”

“I will. Tell everyone I said hello.”

_“Tina says hello from Greece”_ Linda screeched to the family.

_“Hi Tina! Merry Christmas!”_ they yelled back.

“Okay mom, I really have to go. I’ll see you next week.”

And before she could say anything more, Tina was gone.

Linda wandered into the living room after filling up a large glass with wine, plopping onto the couch next to Bob.

“How was she?” Bob asked, clearly missing his daughter.

“She’s great!” Linda started, between large slurps of wine. “Wanna hear something funny?”

“Uh…sure.”

“She ran into Jimmy Pesto out on that island she’s on.”

Zeke and Gene shot each other a discrete, knowing look.

“Huh. That is…funny…I guess.”

“He invited her to spend Christmas at his grandmother’s vineyard. Wasn’t that nice of him?”

Bob snorted. “He probably only invited her so he could rub it in my face that he was charitable to our _poor_ daughter, inviting her to their fancy schmancy mansion.”

“She never said it was a mansion, just that the grandmother had a vineyard.”

“Pfft. I’m sure it’s really extravagant, and he’s just being a showoff,” he grumbled.  
“I can’t deal with this right now. I need a drink.”

Bob stomped off to the kitchen.

He knew in the back of his mind that Pesto had always been rather kind to Linda and the kids, saving his animosity for the patriarch himself.

_It wasn’t fair._

_Jimmy served terrible food, and somehow ran an extremely successful business, all while Bob had scraped by for decades, only recently beginning to see profits._

_And now, to top it all off, his family owned a fucking vineyard!_

_But worst of all he was so damn handsome._

_That handsome face!_

_Bastard._

Bob knew Jimmy could get any woman, or probably man, that he wanted, while Bob was more of a sloppy bear type. Don’t get him wrong, he loved his wife very much, he just sometimes wished he could turn heads like Jimmy did.

Sighing to himself he resolved to try and be a little nicer to Jimmy after the holidays.

After all, it was incredibly nice of him to welcome Tina into his family’s home for the holiday.

…

Zeke slipped back to the guest house as discretely as possible, going into the bedroom, and gripping a pillow to his face to scream out his frustrations.

_Goddammit!_

_That asshole was successful businessman._

_He was handsome as fuck._

_Even totally straight, Zeke could easily admit this._

_And to top it all off he was also so fucking rich his family had a fucking VINEYARD?! How the hell was he supposed to compete with that?!_

Needing to breathe, he finally moved the pillow away from his face, and heard someone clear their throat behind him.

He turned to find Gene, hands in his pockets, patiently waiting.

Zeke hung his head, embarrassed. “Sorry you had to see that Gene-a-sabi.”

Gene reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it.”

They both became very interested in their shoes for a moment before Gene spoke up again.

“Do you want to go out and get drunk after everyone falls asleep?”

“Oh god yes.”

Zeke knew he would need a great deal of liquor to put Tina (and Jimmy) out of his mind tonight, and he wasn’t sure there was enough of it in Seymour’s Bay to accomplish this.

…

After Bob and Linda passed out on the couch, several empty wine bottles between them, Louise already slipped out god knows where, it was time for Gene to make his escape.

He crawled on his belly towards the door (not out of necessity, his belly just itched).

Slipping out the door, he met up with Zeke at Tina’s car, hoping she wouldn’t mind if they borrowed it for the night.

As they drove into the night, Zeke finally spoke. “So, uh…where are we going?”

“Pesto’s.”

Zeke slammed on the breaks.

“What?!”  
“Screw this. We’re going home.”

“Dude. Be cool. Jimmy Junior is throwing a party tonight while his dad is gone.”  
“Think of it as an opportunity to plant some upper-deckers or drop some loogs in his pomade.”

Zeke sighed.

_As much as he’d love to fuck with Pesto, he was a bit old for that shit._

_He may “accidentally” take a piss in his closet though if he was drunk enough though._

He took a deep breathe.

_He could do this._

…

The boys parked down the street, the block already filling up with the cars of the town’s teenagers.

They approached the house from the back, weaving through the drunken crowd, many in various stages of undress as they clambered into the heated pool.

Definitely a typical Pesto party.

Making their way to the kitchen, Zeke was waved over to join J ju and Josh at the keg.

“Zeke! So glad you could make it!” Josh wrapped him in a catty side-arm hug.

_Shit. Did J ju tell him about that kiss the other day?_

“Yeah Zeke. I didn’t think you’d come.”

Zeke shrugged. “Can’t forget a girl if you’re sober!”

“That’s the spirit!” Douglas cheered, materializing out of the crowd.  
“Want to challenge me to a keg stand contest?”

“Bring it on, man!”

Zeke wrapped a friendly arm around the spindly boy’s shoulder, earning him a sharp look from both J ju and Josh.

_Interesting._

_2 hours later_

Zeke let out a loud belch as he was let down from his 5th (or was it 6th?) keg stand since he had gotten to the party.

Douglas was indeed a worthy adversary, and was more comfortable in a handstand for a longer period of time, but he could not compete with the amount of beer Zeke could ingest.

Congratulatory cheers let out across the room as Douglas raised Zeke’s arm.  
“We have a new keg king!”  
“What is your first order of business, sire?”

Zeke thought for a moment, “I gotta take a piss!” he yelled, losing his ability to filter his thoughts.

The crowd cheered him again as he made his way upstairs in search of an empty bathroom.

Or Jimmy’s closet.

_Same thing, right?_

…

Coincidentally, Jimmy Sr’s master bathroom was the only one unoccupied.

The regular partiers knew that the study and bedroom were generally off limits, even without the need for locking the doors.

Not wanting their rager privileges revoked, they all abided by this loan rule.

After he finished relieving his overly full bladder, Zeke fell back on the bed, waiting for his head to stop spinning.

He caught a whiff of Jasmine on the pillow to his left.

A solitary tear formed in the corner of his eye.

Even when he was trying to forget her, she still wormed her way back in.

_Fuck, this was impossible._

“Pretty sure you’re not supposed to be in here.”

Zeke pulled himself up on his elbows to find a gothy looking girl with purple hair he didn’t recognize leaning against the door.

“I’ve known the Pesto’s for years. I kinda get special privileges,” Zeke retorted.  
 _Not to mention Pesto’s fucking my girlfriend._  
“What are you doing in here.”

The girl shrugged.

“Kinda loud out there and needed a break.”

She fell back onto the bed next to him.

“Want some?” she asked, offering him a hit off the bottle of tequila she had in her hand, that he hadn’t noticed before.

They passed the bottle back and forth in silence, the liquor quickly disappearing.

Suddenly the girl leaned over and pressed her lips to his.

Under normal circumstances, he would have pushed her away, but maybe this was just what he needed to get Tina out of his mind.

Their tongues twirling together, the mysterious girl moved to straddle him, pulled her shirt off, them moved to undo the buckle to Zeke’s belt.

He slid his hands up her back to remove her lacey black bra.

Her breasts, while smaller than Tina’s were firm, and felt amazing beneath his hands.

She let out a small moan.

Zeke flipped her over, his mouth finding one of her nipples, he nipped it with his teeth, causing her to moan again, slightly louder.

Feeling challenged, he pulled off her jeans, and yanked her legs open, rubbing a thumb over the crotch of her panties.

“Fuck! Quit torturing me already!”

Zeke grinned, and slipped her panties off, before plunging his tongue between her thighs.

She intertwined her fingers in his hair, pulling as he dove his tongue deeper.

Giving her clit one last nip, he sat up and removed his pants the rest of the way, freeing his now throbbing erection.

The girl flipped over to her knees, clearly wanting him to fuck her from behind.

Zeke gripped her hips hard as he thrust into her.

“I’m Zeke, by the way.”

“I’m…oh fuck…Dillon!” she managed in between gasps.

_“Dillon…”_ he thought as he rammed hard into her, wondering how no one had heard them yet _“Dillon is just what I need right now.”_

…

Zeke felt his shoulder being nudged.

_Fuck his head hurt. How much did he drink last night?_

He was nudged again.

“Zeke. Are you awake?”

Zeke slowly peeled his eyes open, to find Jimmy Junior hovering over him.

He groaned.

“Yeah, man. I’m awake.”

“Who’s Dillon?”

“Huh?

Jimmy Junior put a finger to his chest.

“Dillon. They wrote their number on your chest.”

Zeke looked down.

He was still naked, and written on his chest in eye liner was Dillon’s name and number.

Zeke chuckled. Funny way to leave her number.

He noticed Jimmy Junior eyeballing his morning wood, so he grabbed a pillow, the one that didn’t smell like Jasmine, to cover his nudity.

“Well get dressed and I’ll make you some breakfast before you go home.”

Zeke nodded, scrambling around to locate his clothes, before remaking the bed.

_He hoped Jimmy would enjoy the smell of him in his bed as payback._

Making sure to add Dillon’s number into his phone, he made his way downstairs, rousting Gene along the way, who he found passed out under the coffee table.

“Have a good time, Zeke?”

Zeke grinned. “Yeah. I think I did. Thanks for making me go out.”

“Did you fuck her?”

“Uh…who?”

Gene gave him a knowing look. “Dillon. She had been eyeing you all night. I sent her upstairs after you.”

Zeke laughed. “Well thanks for that, man. I definitely needed that.”

“So…are you going to see her again?”

Zeke pulled up her number on his phone.

“Yeah…I think I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thank you to Besto Jericho who has been helping me hammer out details as I go. Their feedback has been helping me a lot with story development!


	11. Smoking Gun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Secrets secrets are no fun. Secrets secrets hurt someone.
> 
> Zeke finds some damning evidence at the Pesto house, Tina and Jimmy return from Greece, and we see the return of Karen and Dillon.
> 
> Enjoy!

After breakfast Gene and Zeke stayed behind to help Jimmy Jr, Josh, and Douglas clean up from the party.  
  
  


Those were the rules.  
  
  


The Pesto pad was party central, but if they left behind a mess even one time, Jimmy Sr would ban them for life.  
  
  


While everyone was busy collecting the various bottles and cans downstairs, Zeke snuck back up to Jimmy’s room.  
  
  


He wanted to make sure he (or Dillon) hadn't left anything behind. In case things didn’t go the way Gene and Karen planned, he would rather that Jimmy didn’t know it was him who had been in there.  
  
  


It would also be a good time to snoop. Maybe Jimmy had some evidence of SOMETHING laying around that he could use to get Tina back.  
  
  


Straightening up, he found a bra under the bed.  
  
  


Definitely not Dillon's.  
  
  


He checked the size.  
  
  


_Tina's. Ugh.  
  
  
_

He slipped it into his back-pocket intent on tossing it in her hamper when he got home.  
  
  


Not finding anything else out of place he began to poke around, starting with the closet.

He opened the doors. It smelled a little musty.

Almost like someone peed in there.

Zeke chuckled to himself.

A bit immature on his part, but he'd give himself this one.  
  
  
  
Finding nothing of interest aside from designer clothes and piss soaked Italian leather shoes, he closed it back up and turned to the dresser.  
  
  


Nothing but Jimmy’s underwear.  
  
  


_Eew._

And a few pairs of Tina’s that he also liberated, adding them to the bra in his pocket.  
  
  
  
He didn't know why it bothered him so much that Jimmy had some of Tina’s underthings.  
  
  
  
She WAS his girlfriend after all.  
  
  


Zeke shook his head. He had already pilfered them. Too late now.  
  
  


He made his way to the nightstand.  
  
  


Porn mags. Lube. Tissues.  
  
  


_Triple eew.  
  
  
_

Tucked in the back he found a picture frame, with...of course...a breathtakingly beautiful picture of Tina.  
  
  
  
She was on a beach, in a sun dress, her hair waving in the breeze.  
  
  
  


Zeke felt his jealousy welling up again.  
  
  


_She was HIS dammit._

_HIS._

_Not Jimmy’s._

He opened the back of the frame to steal the photo, and a second one slipped out onto the floor.

  
  


It had "September" and the current year, 8th Anniversary, written on the back.  
  
  
  


Zeke flipped over the picture to find the image of Pesto in a passionate lip-lock with another man...and not just any other man...that was his bartender Trev!  
  
  
  


_Wait a minute...something wasn't right.  
  
  
  
_

He flipped the picture over again.  
  
  
  


If their 8th anniversary was this year, he would have been dating Trev since he and Tina were 10...which meant he was STILL with Trev when he had gotten with Tina when they were 16!  
  
  
  


A devilish grin formed on Zeke’s face.  
  
  
  


Looks like he found the smoking gun.

  
  
  
…  
  


  
  
After the entire house was deep cleaned, aside from Jimmy’s room, Gene and Zeke made their way back to the car to head home.  
  
  
  
“Hey…uh…I think I found something in Jimmy’s room.”  
  
  
  
Gene snorted.  
  
  
  
“Nude pics of my sister?”  
  
  
  
Zeke’s face turned dark.  
  
  
  
“No” he said angrily “if I had, we’d be planning something a lot more permanent than breaking them up.”  
  
  
  
Gene threw back his head, letting out a raucous laugh.  
  
  
  
“I like your style, man. What _did_ you find?”  
  
  
  
“Well it _was_ a picture.”  
  
  
  
“Uh huh…”  
  
  
  
“Of Jimmy and Trev.”  
  
  
  
“They’re like best friends. That’s not exactly going to help us.”  
  
  
  
“Uh…they’re a bit more than friends.”  
  
  
  
  
Zeke handed over the picture to Gene once they hit a stop sign.  
  
  
  
  
Gene let out a low whistle.  
  
  
  
  
“That’s some juicy dirt, Z, but I don’t know that Tina is going to care that Jimmy used to date guys. Hell, she’d probably think it was hot or something.”  
  
  
  
  
Zeke sighed impatiently.  
  
  
  
  
“Look at the back.”  
  
  
  
  
“September…8th Anniversary…so?”  
  
  
  
  
“Do some math, dude.”  
  
  
  
  
Gene’s face screwed as he worked it out in his head, his eyes widening as realization took hold.  
  
  
  
  
“Wait a minute…8 years…so the whole time they dated last time?”  
  
  
  
  
“Yup.”  
  
  
  
  
“Do you think they’re _still_ together?”  
  
  
  
  
Zeke hadn’t considered this.  
  
  
  
  
“I dunno. Maybe. I found that picture behind a photo of Tina. If they had broken up, you’d think he would have gotten rid of it.”  
  
  
  
  
“Well either way, I’ll give it to Karen. Maybe it will help her when she confronts them.”  
  
  
  
  
Zeke nodded. “She’s not telling her we’re involved, right?”  
  
  
  
  
“Nope. We’re safe.”

  
  
  
  
Zeke leaned his head on the window for the rest of the way home.  
  
  
  
  
_He hoped this was almost over.  
  
  
_

_  
_  
  
  
...  
  
  
  
  
  


Their trip to Greece had been amazing.  
  
  
  
  
Without the prying eyes of the locals and the constant need for secrecy, Jimmy felt the two finally got to really connect.  
  
  
  
  
They had returned from Greece several days earlier than either of them had told their families, planning to unpack most of their things back at the house, getting a good night’s sleep before heading up to New York City for New Year’s Eve.  
  
  
  
  
Tina had told her family she’d be arriving at the bus station on the 2nd, with Jimmy dropping her off a few hours before they were scheduled to pick her up, none the wiser.  
  
  
  
  
Entering the house, Jimmy tossed Tina over his shoulder before carrying her inside, Tina squealing in delight.

"Let’s get you into the bath to freshen up before I make you dinner, and then..."  
  
  
  


Jimmy stopped short.  
  
  
  


"James? Is everything okay?" Tina asked, sliding back down to the floor.  
  
  
  


She turned to see where he was staring, to find a severe, but posh looking woman sitting on the couch, arms crossed and lips pursed paper thin.  
  
  
  


"Karen? What are you _doing_ here?"  
  
  
  


"James, who's this?"  
  
  
  


"I'm his wife" the woman snapped.

"EX-wife" Jimmy corrected. "Why are you in my house?"

"We need to talk Jimmy."

Jimmy put a gentle hand on Tina’s shoulder, not taking his eyes off Karen.  
  
  
  


"Go ahead and head home Tina, I'll call you later tonight."  
  
  
  
  
“But I’m not supposed to be home for three days.”  
  
  
  
  
“You’ll think of something.”  
  
  
  
  
Tina started to leave, but was stopped by Karen, her arm shooting out to stop her with a firm grip on the wrist.  
  
  
  
  
“What the hell?! Let go of me!”  
  
  
  
  
Karen gave her a calculating look.  
  
  
  
  
“Stay. _I insist._ This involves you too.”

She slowly peeled her hand away when it was clear that Tina wasn’t going to run off.  
  
  
  
  
Karen turned to Jimmy.  
  
  
  
  
“I thought we took care of this last year when I told you to end it.”  
  
  
  
  
Tina glared at her.  
  
  
  
  
“So it was _your_ fault James broke up with me?”  
  
  
  
  
Karen rolled her eyes.  
  
  
  
  
“Yes. He was a grown man dating a child. I had an obligation to step in.”  
  
  
  
  
“She was legally able to consent!” Jimmy argued.  
  
  
  
  
“Barely.”  
  
  
  
  
“Well, it didn’t work. We’re back together, and we’re in love. You’re just going to have to accept that.”  
  
  
  
  
Tina slipped her hand into Jimmy’s giving it a possessive squeeze.  
  
  
  
  
Karen smiled at the girl.  
  
  
  
  
“Did _James_ ever tell you why we got divorced?”  
  
  
  
  
Tina smirked. “No, and I don’t care.”  
  
  
  
  
“So he never told you about his coke addiction?”  
  
  
  
  
Doubt flashed across Tina’s face.  
  
  
  
  
“No. But that was a long time ago, and he’s not on anything now.”  
  
  
  
  
Karen’s eye twitched lightly. “It wasn’t as long ago as you’d think.”  
  
  
  
  
“Still, doesn’t matter.”  
  
  
  
  
Tina’s voice stayed firm, but her hand slipped out of Jimmy’s.  
  
  
  
  
_So close. It looks like she’d have to bring out the big guns._

Karen approached Tina, like a lioness stalking her prey.  
  
  
  
  
“Did you know that _James_ has a thing for teens?”  
  
  
  
  
Confusion passed over Tina’s face.  
  
  
  
  
“Karen…” Jimmy warned.  
  
  
  
  
She continued, ignoring him. “Oh, you thought you were the _only_ one?”  
“Besides his coke habits, the other reason why we got divorced was that I caught him screwing the babysitter.”  
  
  
  
  
“I d-don’t believe you.” Tina stammered.  
  
  
  
  
_Got her._  
  
  
  
  
“Oh? You don’t believe me?”  
  
  
  
  
“Karen…”  
  
  
  
  
“ _Shut up James._ It’s true, Tina. I caught him on the couch screwing the babysitter one night after he was supposed to have taken him home.”  
  
  
  
  
“Him?”  
  
  
  
  
“Oh yes. Didn’t you know Jimmy liked men too?”  
  
  
  
  
Tina straightened.  
  
  
  
  
“No, and that doesn’t bother me.”  
  
  
  
  
She noticed Jimmy looked nervous.

_But why?_

“Would it bother you to find that you know him?”  
  
  
  
  
“Karen, that’s enough!”  
  
  
  
  
“Who?” Tina squeaked.  
  
  
  
  
“Trev.”  
  
  
  
  
“Trev?” Tina turned to Jimmy. “Trev your bartender? You _slept_ with him?”  
  
  
  
  
  
“Oh honey. Slept would imply past tense. Try _sleeping_ with.”  
  
  
  
  
She handed the photograph to Tina that Gene had given her earlier that day, after a phone call to the airline pretending she was still the current Mrs. Pesto got them their arrival date and time.  
  
  
  
  
Tina glanced at the photo and winced before trying to hand it back.  
  
  
  
  
“That proves nothing. Just that they were together at some point. That could have been 5 years ago!”  
  
  
  
  
Karen crossed her arms over her chest. “Turn it over.”  
  
  
  
  
Tina flipped it over, reading the date.  
  
  
  
  
Suddenly furious, she shoved it in Jimmy’s face.  
  
  
  
  
“September?! _Eight years?!_ You were cheating on me with Trev?!”  
  
  
  
  
Jimmy hung his head and mumbled. “Technically, I cheated on _him_ with _you_. But it’s over. I swear!”  
  
  
  
  
Tina shook her head.  
  
  
  
  
“I don’t believe you. I..I need to leave.”  
  
  
  
  
“Tina, wait!” he reached for her, but she brushed him aside, running out of the room.  
  
  
  
  
The door slammed.  
  
  
  
  
Jimmy turned back to Karen, furious.  
  
  
  
  
“Why the fuck would you do that?!”  
  
  
  
  
Karen smirked. “Because, Jimmy, she had every right to know the _real_ you.”  
  
  
  
  
“Get the fuck out of my house!”  
  
  
  
  
She laughed. “I was leaving anyway. Let this be a lesson to you. The truth _always_ comes out eventually.”  
  
  
  
  
Now alone, Jimmy pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts, selecting and dialing a number.  
  
  
  
  
After a few rings a groggy voice picked up. _“Hello?”_

“Hey…can I come over?”  
  
  
  
  
The voice on the other end sighed. _“She gone already?”_

“Yeah. Karen told her everything. She dumped me.” He paused for a moment. “So can I come over?”  
  
  
  
  
_“Sure”_ said the voice on the other line. _“But I swear this is the last time. You fuck around on me again and we’re done.”_  
  
  
  
  
Jimmy let out a light laugh. “You always say that. You know you love me no matter what.”  
  
  
  
  
_“Whatever. Just get over here already. I miss your cock.”_  
  
  
  
  
“Be there in ten.”  
  
  
  
  
Jimmy ended the call.  
  
  
  
  
Karen was 100% right about him.  
  
  
  
  
He _should_ feel bad about what he had done.  
  
  
  
  
He _should_ be trying to figure out how to get Tina back.  
  
  
  
  
But all he could think of at the moment was Trev’s mouth around his cock.  
  
  
  
  
_One step at a time.  
  
  
  
  
One step at a time._

  
  
  
…

Tina ran the whole way home.  
  
  
  
  
_She wasn’t sure how she’d explain her early arrival home to her family.  
  
  
  
  
Or where all her things were._  
  
  
  
  
All she had with her was her purse and her cell phone, the rest of her belongings left behind when she bolted out of Jimmy’s.  
  
  
  
  
Not that she would have had any way to get everything home on her own unless she waited for a cab, or had asked for a ride from Karen or Jimmy.  
  
  
  
  
None of which she wanted to do.  
  
  
  
  
Tina slowed as she approached the driveway.  
  
  
  
  
Both the main house and the guesthouse were dark.  
  
  
  
  
_Thank god. Everyone was still at the restaurant._  
  
  
  
  
She let herself in, leaving the lights out, navigating by memory through the darkened house.  
  
  
  
  
She didn’t want to risk someone coming home and seeing her kitchen or living room light on.  
  


  
  
  
She didn’t want them to know she was home yet _  
  
  
  
_

_  
She wasn’t ready for the questions._

_  
  
  
_

_Questions she wasn’t sure how to answer just yet._

  
  
  


Tina stripped out of her clothing, throwing them into the corner, and headed into the bathroom.  
  
  
  
  
_She wanted…no **needed** to scrub every bit of his scent off her._

_…_

Zeke and Dillon sat in the Ferris wheel, stopped at the top.  
  
  
  
  
Zeke cleared his throat nervously.  
  
  
  
  
“The view is really romantic up here.”  
  
  
  
  
Dillon slipped her hand onto Zeke’s thigh.  
  
  
  
  
“Interested in making it _more_ romantic?” she winked at him.  
  
  
  
  
Zeke wrapped his hand around hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.  
  
  
  
  
“Temptin’ offer, but we probably shouldn’t fool around up here where everyone can see us.”  
  
  
  
  
Sliding her hand up to grope his crotch through his jeans, she squeezed him gently.  
  
  
  
  
“Well we _could_ go back to your place. Isn’t everyone still at work?”  
  
  
  
  
_Zeke was tempted._

_  
  
  
_

_He really was.  
  
  
  
  
But that had been his and Tina’s place.  
  
  
  
  
It just felt wrong to bring another girl there._  
  
  
  
  
Zeke brought Dillon’s hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles.  
  
  
  
  
“Another time.”  
  
  
  
  
Dillon gave a fake pout.  
  
  
  
  
The ride came to a stop and Zeke helped her out of the cart.

  
  


“O-kay. I guess I should head home, it’s getting pretty late.”  
  
  
  
  
Zeke nodded, and walked Dillon back to her car, relenting to her goodnight kiss, even returning the tongue she flicked into his mouth.  
  
  
  
  
He liked her. He really did. But he didn’t want to rush into another relationship just yet.  
  
  
  
  
Regardless, they still made plans for New Years Eve, Dillon promising to send him a text to let him know she made it home okay.  
  
  
  
  
Zeke shoved his hands into his pockets and shuffled back to his own car, well, Tina’s really, and prepared to drive home.  
  
  
  
  
_He felt guilty.  
  
  
  
  
Guilty for liking Dillon, but more guilty that even with Dillon’s hand rubbing his dick, he still had Tina on his mind.  
  
  
  
  
He hoped she was okay, wherever she was.  
  
  
  
  
And he hoped that maybe she would actually talk to him when it was all said and done between her and Jimmy._  
  
  
  
  
_Not talking to her for almost three months was three months too long._

  
  


Pulling into the driveway he noted the lights were still out at the main house.  
  
  
  
  
He probably should stop by the restaurant and help out, but he was tired after his date, and quite frankly, he really needed to rub one out after Dillon’s groping him any chance she got that night.  
  
  
  
  
Opening the door to the guest house, he froze.  
  
  
  
  
_Why was the shower running? He knew he had turned it off after he was done that afternoon_.  
  
  
  
  
The faucet squeaked off.  
  
  
  
  
Grabbing a bat that he had left by the door he crept towards the bedroom entrance, observing the sliver of light under the door, movement from a figure could be seen inside.  
  
  
  
  
He raised the bat in preparation as the door opened, revealing Tina, dripping wet, clad only in a towel.  
  
  
  
  
“Zeke?”  
  
  
  
  
He dropped the bat.  
  
  
  
  
“Tina? What are you-?”  
  
  
  
  
He was interrupted has she ran to him, closing the distance and throwing herself into his arms.  
  
  
  
  
She began to sob hoarsely, as if she had been crying for some time already.  
  
  
  
  
“I’m _so_ sorry, Zeke, I never should have…”  
  
  
  
  
He shushed her, pulling her to his chest, not caring that his clothes were getting soaked.  
  
  
  
  
“It’s okay baby girl. I got you.”  
  
  
  
  
He felt tears begin to stream from his own eyes.  
  
  
  
  
For the first time since he had left, he felt whole.  
  
  
  
  
_But for how long?_


	12. New beginnings or the end of an era?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Threats are made, dates are canceled, its looking to be a fun New Year's Eve.

Zeke held her tight, hesitant to release her, wanting the moment to last forever.  
  
  
  
But as she began to sag in his arms, clearly emotionally drained, he knew he needed to get her to bed.  
  
  
  
He gently picked her up, forgetting how light she was, and brought her over to the bed so he could lay her down.  
  
  
  
Zeke gently dried her off and helped her into some pajamas as if she were a small child.  
  
  
  
If he had been anything like the bastard she had spent the last few months with, he supposed he would have used it as an opportunity to cop a feel.  
  
  
  
But that wasn’t Zeke.  
  
  
  
After tucking her in, he grabbed an extra pillow and moved to head out to the couch to give her some privacy, but Tina reached out and gripped his wrist.  
  
  
  
“Tina?”  
  
  
  
“Please stay. I…I don’t want to be alone right now.”  
  
  
  
“Whatever you need, T. Let me go shower and change then I’ll come to bed.”  
  
  
  
It didn’t feel right to crawl into bed with her still smelling like Dillon.  
  
  
  
Tina stared at the ceiling as Zeke showered, listening to the melodic sound of his singing.  
  
  
  
 _She had forgotten he did that.  
  
  
  
It was cute._  
  
  
  
Zeke emerged from the bathroom, a cloud of steam surrounding him, a towel draped loosely around his hips.  
  
  
  
She tried and failed to avert her eyes as he slipped his towel off to dry himself, before pulling on a pair of boxers from his duffle on the floor.  
  
  
  
 _Hot damn._  
  
  
  
 _She had also forgotten what a fantastic ass he had…among other things, she thought, giving an appreciative glance southward._  
  
  
  
Tina really hoped he didn’t catch her staring.

Zeke came back to the bed, slipping under the comforter, his leg grazing hers, causing a shiver to move up her spine.  
  
  
  
“Sorry, T” he apologized, mistaking the shiver for a chill, instead of the arousal she was feeling.  
  
  
  
He leaned back, his hands behind his head.  
  
  
  
“So, do you want to talk about it?”  
  
  
  
Tina sniffled. “No, but I will anyway.”  
  
  
  
She relayed to him all that had happened since their breakup, amazed at his lack of surprise.  
  
  
  
“Damn T. That’s…that’s pretty crazy. I’m sorry he did that to you. You deserve better.”  
  
  
  
He hesitated, “And for the record, I’m also sorry for what I did too. I shouldn’t have taken you for granted like that, and I DEFINITELY shouldn’t have been drunk around some girl who couldn’t keep it in her pants. I can’t remember what happened, but it’s no excuse.”  
  
  
  
Tina nodded, then slid her arm over his chest to pull him into a hug.  
  
  
  
“I should have given you a chance to explain. Maybe if I had, we wouldn’t have broken up, and I wouldn’t have gotten back with Jimmy. Even with everything that happened, at least you were always honest with me.”  
  
  
  
Zeke played with a strand of her hair.  
  
  
  
“Well, for the sake of honesty, there _is_ something else I need to come clean about.”  
  
  
  
Tina groaned. “Were there _more_ girls? Or _guys_?”

Zeke laughed, “No, nothing like that.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I, uh, I actually knew about you and Jimmy before you told me.”  
  
  
  
“What?! How?! No one else knew! Well besides his ex-wife somehow.”  
  
  
  
Her eyes narrowed.  
  
  
  
“Did she tell you?”  
  
  
  
“No…” he was glad he never spoke to Karen directly at this point, and could continue his policy of honesty with her.  
  
  
  
“It was actually J Ju. And Tammy.”  
  
  
  
“How the hell did they find out?!”  
  
  
  
“Technically they didn’t. Tammy mentioned to me that you were seeing someone named James, but only knew he didn’t go to Huxley. And J Ju came over a few days before Christmas to bury the hatchet, and he mentioned his dad was in Greece for Christmas. Seemed like too big a coincidence, and when you called at Christmas, it confirmed it.”  
  
  
  
She slapped her hand over her eyes, groaning again.  
  
  
  
“Does anyone else know?”  
  
  
  
 _Shit. He hadn’t expected her to ask. He couldn’t rat out Gene. She wasn’t stupid and would figure out her brother had been the one funneling information to Karen. He just hoped she could forgive him this one small lie for the sake of her relationship with her brother._

  
  


“Not that I know of. I didn’t tell anyone.”

  
  


She relaxed, leaning her head back onto his chest, his arm instinctively wrapping around her.  
  
  
  
“So what am I supposed to tell my family about why I’m home two days earlier than I said I would be?”  
  
  
  
“Could you say you wanted to surprise them?”  
  
  
  
“I guess so. But I don’t know that I’m ready for all the questions about the trip, and I’d have to figure out how to get to the bus station for them to pick me up…Shit!”  
  
  
  
“What?”  
  
  
  
“I left all my stuff at Jimmy’s. There’s no way I’ll be able to explain my way out of that one. And I don’t think I can handle going back there right now.”  
  
  
  
She began to cry again.  
  
  
  
“Hey hey hey, I gotcha baby girl.” He rubbed her back soothingly. “I’ll take care of it.”  
  
  
  
“You will?”  
  
  
  
“You can count on me. If you can stay out of sight for a few days, I’ll handle everything else.”  
  
  
  
“Thanks Zeke. That means a lot to me.”  
  
  
  
She brushed her lips softly over his cheek before snuggling into his side, promptly falling asleep, exhausted.  
  
  
  
After he was sure she was completely out, he shot Gene a quick text, filling him in on Tina’s early return, asking for his help in keeping the other Belchers distracted.  
  
  
  
He was on board of course, and got right to work, arranging for his parents to have an overnight date for New Years the next evening to get them out of the house, his treat. Both knowing Bob and Linda wouldn’t turn down a free room at the fancy schmancy hotel over on Kingshead Island.  
  
  
  
Louise already had plans to spend the night at the twins’ house, so that just left Gene to find a party, or some hot man meat to occupy himself. Neither of which would be a problem.  
  
  
  
Zeke settled back onto the bed, spooning Tina, holding her tight to him.  
  
  
  
As awful as it had been, he wished he could make this moment last forever.

…

The next morning Zeke woke up bright and early, after the Belchers had left for the restaurant to do the day’s prep-work.  
  
  
  
He swiped Tina’s phone and slipped outside as not to wake her.  
  
  
  
He planned to let her to sleep in as long as she wanted.  
  
  
  
Seemed like she needed it.  
  
  
  
He scrolled through her contacts, looking for one in particular.  
  
  
  
 _James.  
  
  
_  
A look of disgust involuntarily formed on his face.

_Here goes nothing._

He hit dial, listening to the phone ring once…twice…”  
  


  
  
_“Tina! I am so glad you called! Please let me explain…”_

_“Save it Jimmy, this isn’t Tina.”_  
  
  
  
 _“Zeke”_ he replied with a tone of animosity not too different that the one Tina herself used to use on him years ago.  
  
  
  
 _“Why are **you** calling me from Tina’s phone?”_

_“I’m calling to let you know I’ll be over in about 30 minutes to get her things.”_  
  
  
  
 _“Tell Tina to come herself. I want to talk to her.”_  
  
  
  
 _“Not a chance. You’re going to deal with me.”  
_  
  
  
 _“Oh, am I now? And why am I going to do that?”_  
  
  
  
 _“Leverage JAMES. I know your secret now. Well **secrets**. I know about everything with Tina, and I know about Trev. You want me to keep that to myself, then you’re going to leave her be.”_  
  
  
  
He could hear muffled cursing from the other end of the phone.  
  
  
  
 _“Fine. 30 minutes. I’ll meet you out back.”_  
  
  


  
  
  
Zeke hung up and creeped back into the house to throw on some clothes and grab Tina’s keys.  
  
  
  
He wanted to be back before she woke up.   
  
  
  


  
  
…

True to his word, Jimmy was waiting for him outside when he pulled up, his shirt half unbuttoned, in what looked like an attempt to look sexy.  
  
  
  
He must have held out a sliver of hope that Tina would insist on coming.  
  
  
  
Jimmy frowned when he saw that the car contained only Zeke.  
  
  
  
Zeke stepped out and returned the glare.  
  
  
  
“Pesto.”  
  
  
  
“Mr. Beefcake.”  
  
  
  
 _“Zeke.”_  
  
  
  
Jimmy rolled his eyes. “Fine. _Zeke_.”  
  
  
  
They stared each other down for a moment before Jimmy uncrossed his arms and sighed.  
  
  
  
“Guess I’d better help you load everything in.”  
  
  
  
“That’d be nice.”  
  
  
  
The two men loaded the trunk in silence.  
  
  
  
Jimmy closed the hatch, then leaned onto the car, fiddling with the buttons on his shirt.  
  
  
  
“Guess I fucked up pretty bad huh?”  
  
  
  
“Yeah, that’s an understatement.”  
  
  
  
Jimmy gave him a pointed look. “I wasn’t the only one.”  
  
  
  
“You’re right. We both messed up. Neither of us deserve her.”  
  
  
  
Jimmy nodded as if in agreement.  
  
  
  
“Here’s the difference between us though, Jimmy. I never lied to her about what I did. And I owned up to it. You’re over 40 fucking years old. I think its about time you grew up.”  
  
  
  
“Think she’d take me back if I did that?” he asked with a toothy grin.  
  
  
  
Zeke stiffened. “I think you need to let her go. She needs to be able to live her life. She can’t do that saddled with an old man more than twice her age.”  
  
  
  
Jimmy clenched his fists. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. The age difference never mattered to her. She _wants_ to be with me. I know it.”  
  
  
  
Zeke stepped closer, grabbing a handful of Jimmy’s shirt, pulling him upwards until they were nearly nose to nose.  
  
  
  
“I’m going to tell you this once, and only once. You stay the fuck away from her. You stay far fucking away from her.”  
  
  
  
“What if I don’t?” Jimmy sneered.  
  
  
  
Zeke raised his fist, causing Jimmy to cower.  
  
  
  
“If you don’t, I’ll have to break my rule about breaking my fist on people’s faces. Do we have an understanding?”  
  
  
  
“Y-yeah.” Jimmy stammered.  
  
  
  
Zeke released his shirt, shoving him back at the same time causing Jimmy to fall unceremoniously on his ass.

Granting Zeke one more defeated, but venomous look, Jimmy scurried back into the house and slamming the door, as if afraid he would reconsider hitting him.  
  
  
  
He allowed himself a smug grin as he slid back into the car.  
  
  
  
Cowards like Pesto always backed down if you threatened them.  
  
  
  
Despite his hulking size, Zeke wasn’t a fan of violence due to his abusive upbringing. But for Tina…he would be willing to do more than just beat the shit out of the greasy older man for her.  
  
  
And that terrified him.  
  
  


  
  
  
…  
  
  


  
  
Tina woke to the smell of sizzling bacon.  
  
  
  
Her stomach grumbled.  
  
  
  
She hadn’t eaten since the morning before and was starving.  
  
  
  
Slipping out of bed she padded into the kitchen to find Zeke simultaneously frying bacon in a pan with his left hand, and flipping a sunny side up egg in another with his right.  
  
  
  
 _She loved a man who knew his way around the kitchen.  
  
  
  
Loved.  
  
  
  
Her heart fluttered at the word.  
  
  
  
Did she still love him?_  
  
  
  
Before she could answer her own question, he turned, sliding food onto a plate and presenting it to her with an exaggerated flourish that made her laugh.  
  
  
  
She dug in, trying to maintain lady-like bites instead of shoveling it in.  
  
  
  
“So, what are your plans for New Years Eve tonight?” she asked.  
  
  
  
 _Crap! He forgot he made plans with Dillon for tonight! Crap! Crap! Crap!_  
  
  
  
“Well I thought about going out, but I think I’d rather stay in. You up for dinner and a movie?”  
  
  
  
Her eyes sparkled. “Of course! As long as you’re not cancelling some big important date to hang around with me.”  
  
  
  
“Naw, nothing important.” Zeke drummed his fingers on his thigh trying to decide how he was going to maneuver this. “Hey, you go ahead and finish up your breakfast, I’m going to go hop in the shower.”  
  
  
  
Besides needing to cancel his date, he also knew Tina was struggling to maintain composure, and just wanted to scarf down her food, but was self-conscious about doing so in front of him.  
  
  
  
He had caught her doing it a few times when she thought he wasn’t looking, and thought it was cute. Not that he’d ever embarrass her by telling her that.  
  
  
  
Closing the door behind him he pulled out his cell phone and sent Dillon a quick text.  
  


  
  
_“Hey, u up yet?”  
  
  
“Ugh. Unfortunately. Wats up?”  
“I’m really looking forward 2 our date 2night ; )”  
  
  
“Shoot. I feel real bad, but I need 2 cancel. Sumthing came up. :(“  
  
  
“Booooo. U suck.”  
  
  
“Ha ha. Real funny.”  
  
  
“Yeah, IM a riot.”  
“It’s cool tho.”  
  
  
“U sure?”  
  
  
“Yeah! I’ll just go to the orgy stag.”  
  
  
“Wut??”  
  
  
“jk!”  
“Rain check?”  
  
  
“Sure.”_

He closed his phone, stripped and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water run down his body.  
  
  
  
 _Tonight would be interesting.  
  
  
  
Dinner and a movie, no interruptions.  
  
  
  
Completely alone.  
  
  
  
_He suddenly became very uneasy, almost as if it was a first date. Or a date in general.  
  
  
  
 _Wait, was it a date?  
  
  
  
Should he treat her like a friend?  
  
  
  
Like a girlfriend?  
  
  
  
Should he kiss her?  
  
  
  
Oh god. What if he tried and she got mad?  
  
  
  
What if she didn’t get mad?  
  
  
  
What if she wanted to…  
_  
  
  
His thoughts were racing and he felt himself start to hyperventilate.  
  
  
  
He hadn’t been this flustered since back when they played spin the bottle when they were kids. Praying to gods he didn’t believe in that her spin would land on him.  
  
  
  
 _But **why** was he so nervous?  
  
  
  
This was just Tina.  
  
  
  
Tina, who he had known since middle school.  
  
  
  
Tina, who gave him his first kiss in Jocelyn’s basement.  
  
  
  
Tina, who took him into her family when he was alone.  
  
  
  
Tina…who he was still head over heels in love with.  
  
  
  
_He banged his head lightly on the wall of the shower. _  
_  
  
  
 _Please don’t let him screw this up tonight._  
  
  


  
  
  
…

Zeke emerged from a longer than anticipated shower to find Tina passed out face first on the couch, one leg and arm hanging down towards the floor.  
  
  
  
He couldn’t help but laugh.  
  
  
  
That was his Tina. Awkward even in sleep.  
  
  
  
Dressing quickly, he tiptoed into the kitchen, careful not to wake her.  
  
  
  
He peered into the fridge trying to decide what he was going to make.  
  
  
  
Nothing seemed right.  
  
  
  
 _It needed to be special, but not too fancy.  
  
  
  
Aww hell. He knew exactly what he should make. He had planned for this nearly five years ago._  
  
  
  
He closed the fridge, jotting down a quick note for her in case she woke up while he went to the store.  
  
  
  
Walking jauntily to the car, he suddenly couldn’t wait for tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out again to BestoJericho for being my editor and unofficial muse. You rock!
> 
> Also, Jimmy is an ass. XD


	13. Undisclosed Desires

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strap in guys, this is a looooong chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where we start to see a little more of the man behind the mask, and get to know the REAL jimmy Pesto. Enjoy!

Tina woke up to find a note taped to her butt.  
  
  
Snorting in amusement she gave it a quick skim.

  
_Out picking up a few things for tonight, be home soon._

_Don’t forget to stay out of sight.  
  
-Z_

She placed the note on the coffee table, reclining back to stretch her stiff muscles, then slipped out of her pajamas. They were smelling a bit riper than she cared to admit.

The key clicked in the lock and she leaned forward, looking expectantly towards the door for the return of her date for the evening, hoping her lack of clothing might spark some interest, only to spot the greying head of her mother.

Tina froze.

Linda was turned away, yelling at someone outside, so she took the opportunity to make a dash for the bedroom, quietly closing the door behind her.

“I’ll just be a minute Bobby! I want to see if Tina has any before we bother buying some.”

_What was her mom looking for?_

She heard her mother yelling from the living room.

“Yes, I’m sure she has some. What teenager doesn’t have condoms and lube?”

_Shit. There are only two places she would look for those things, and she was trapped in one of them._

Panicking, she dove under the bed, just as the bedroom door opened.

She could hear Linda poking around, talking to herself.

“Now if I were condoms and lube where would I be? In the closet? No.”

“Hmm…what about in the dresser? Nope not here either.”

“Yeesh. You’d think Tina would have cleaned up in here a bit before she left.”

Tina suddenly remembered her purse and cell phone were left out.

If her mother found them, her cover would be blown.

And if that happened, she’d have more problems than the rug burn she received on her tits when she had hidden under the bed.

Linda stopped right next to her.

“I wonder if they’re under the bed.”

_Oh no._

Linda started to lean downwards.

Tina held her breath.

“Oh! I forgot to check the nightstand.”

The drawer opened and Linda rifled around.

“Jackpot!” she yelled.

From outside, Bob honked the horn.

“Keep your panties on! I’m coming!”

She went to leave, running into Zeke who was returning from the store.

“Uh, hi Mama B!”

“Hey Zeke, how are you honey? Got any fun plans for tonight?”

“Not really, just hanging out and watching some tv.”

He spotted the pilfered items in her hand.

“Got some fun plans yourself?”

Linda’s face uncharacteristically turned red.

“Bobby and I have a date night planned out at Kingshead Island. Gene surprised us with a hotel room for the evening.”

“Well that was sweet of him.”

Linda considered this for a moment.

“You don’t think he’s getting rid of us so he can throw a party, right?”

Zeke laughed. “Naw, but I’ll keep an eye out just in case. No wild parties on my watch, I promise!”

She patted him on the cheek.

“You’re such a good boy. I wish Tina could see that. I miss you two together.”

Zeke rubbed the back of his neck.

“Yeah I miss that too.”

Bob honked again.

“Well I’d better go before Mr. Belcher has an aneurism. Have a good night!”

“You too Mama B!”

Zeke waited at the door watching as the older couple pulled out of the driveway and drove off.

As soon as they were out of sight Zeke tossed the grocery bags onto the counter.

“T! Where the hell are you?! Tina!”

“I’m here!” she called from the bedroom.

“Where?”

“Under the bed. I’m stuck.”

Zeke chuckled. “How the heck did you manage that?”

“Just lift up the bed so I can get out.”

Lifting the entire frame for her, she slid out.

“What were you doing under there? …And any particular reason you’re naked?” he grinned at her.

“That’s irrelevant. I had to squeeze under there so she wouldn’t find me.”

Zeke started snickering.

“What?! What’s so funny?”

He bent over laughing.

“Y-you have carpet burn on your boobs.”

She punched him hard on the shoulder and stomped off towards the bathroom to shower off the dust bunnies that were stuck to her skin.

“You’re a jerk!”

…

Tina scrubbed herself raw in the shower, thoroughly embarrassed that her attempt at looking sexy turned into a game of anxiety-inducing hide and seek, culminating in rug burned tits and dust bunnies.

_And he had laughed at her!_

_Ass._

She rinsed the suds out of her hair.

_Well, she guessed it was sort of funny._

The hot water had run out at this point, and she was extremely pruney.

_Guess it was now or never._

She stepped out, and using up the last two clean towels, dried herself off, and toweled her hair just right so it would be wavy, just the way he liked it.

Tina slipped into the bedroom, checking that he wasn’t there to continue teasing her, and made her way to the dresser.

It was frustratingly empty, save for one pair of extremely cheeky lace boy short panties.

_A bit sexier than she was aiming for, but okay._

She threw open her closet, and nothing.

Dammit! She knew she should have done laundry before she left, now she was wearing the only clean garment she owned.

Grumbling her frustration, she dug around Zeke’s duffel and found an unworn flannel shirt that she slipped on, making sure to keep selective buttons undone to provide the best view.

_She was going to totally get him back for laughing at her._

Working her most seductive walk, that she supposed made her look more like an awkward chicken, Tina made her way into the living room, finding Zeke asleep on the couch.

Tiptoeing over to him she straddled his lap, poised her fingers into claws…then began mercilessly tickling him.

He jerked and twitched under her hold, laughing uncontrollably.

“T-tina! Knock it off! Y-you’re gonna make me piss myself!”

When she didn’t let up, he grabbed her wrists, holding them to his chest.

Slowly releasing them, he slid his hands up her bare thighs.

“Hey, isn’t that _my_ shirt?”

“Yeah, I didn’t have anything clean.”

He picked up the edge of the shirt tail revealing her panties, letting out a low whistle.

“Looks good on ya, baby girl.”

She laughed. “You know you aren’t getting this back, right?”

Moving his hands up to her trim waist he winked at her.

“All yours.”

They sat like that for a while, making idle chit chat, Zeke finding it really hard to concentrate on the conversation with this sexy woman straddling his lap.

_Poorly seasoned meat. Dirty grills. Canned vegetables._

Zeke ran these horrifying images through his mind to keep his dick down.

_Now was not the time._

“So, uh, what do you want to do until dinner time.”

She bit her lip seductively.

“Well I had something in mind, but it might be a little crazy.”

_Oh god._

…

Jimmy paced his study.

_He couldn’t believe that that redneck kid had embarrassed him like that._

_And why wouldn’t Tina come get her things herself?_

_She couldn’t be THAT mad at him._

_She loved him after all!_

_Didn’t she?_

He stopped pacing.

_What was that hick telling her?_

_Was he whispering sweet nothings in her ear while he bent her over the couch and had his way with her?_

_Son of a bitch. Tina was his._

_She wouldn’t move on that fast, would she?_

_He had to be sure._

…

Zeke leaned over, Tina’s foot resting in his lap.

When she said she had something crazy in mind, this was definitely not what he had pictured.

He supposed most men would cringe at the thought of painting their girl's toes, but Zeke found he loved it.

Not for the act of painting them, but more for the intimacy it afforded him.

It gave him a valid excuse for his hands to be on her legs, and when he blew softly on her toes to assist in the dry time, it made her giggle.

He loved that.

He noticed that the shade she selected was a deep green, his favorite color.

He wondered if it was a coincidence but decided against it.

Tina tended to do things like that on purpose, being a master of subtlety.

His hands lingered on her calves as they waited for them to dry.

An awkward silence blooming.

“Oh!” he suddenly exclaimed “I forgot to give ya yer Christmas gift!”

“You got me a gift?”

“’Course I did. I didn’t want to get somethin’ for everyone but you.”

Her eyes dropped for a moment.

It wasn’t something special, just something so she wouldn’t feel left out.

He set her feet gently on the couch cushion then dashed over to the main house to fetch the pity gift.

Tina used the opportunity to retrieve the gift she had purchased for him as well, having selected it before they broke up.

She had thought to gift it to Jimmy instead, but ultimately forgot to pack it for her trip.

She smiled to herself. She was glad it was going to its intended owner.

Situating herself back on the couch like he left her, she tucked the small box behind the pillow she was leaning on, intent on playing a little trick on him.

Zeke burst in, a beautifully wrapped box in his arms.

_Oh no. What did he do?_

He placed the package gently on her lap, his eyes twinkling.

“Aren’t ya gonna open it?”

Tina delicately undid the large bow and began to carefully open the sides as to not damage the paper.

“Come on girl! Get yer rip on!”

She laughed, then caved in.

A flurry of torn paper revealed a large gift box, which she opened to reveal an ornate vintage jewelry box.

“Is it okay? Do ya not like it?” he hesitatingly questioned when she didn’t say anything.

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes.

“I don’t like it.”

Zeke felt like he was about to cry himself.

“I love it.”

“Ya do?”

“It’s beautiful, Zeke!”

She placed the box carefully onto the coffee table, grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him towards her into a tight hug.

He melted in her embrace for a moment before pulling away, face reddened.

She frowned. “Shoot. I wish I had gotten you something.”

Zeke fidgeted. “It’s okay, I wasn’t expecting nothin’…”

“No no. You got me such a beautiful gift, I should return the favor. Hmm…” she began to dig in the couch cushions. “there must be something in here that would work.”

“Tina, that’s really not necessary.”

She reached behind the couch pillow.

“Oh! Look what I found!”

She handed the small box to him and winked. “I hope it’s something good.”

He shook the box, stopping when he noticed Tina wincing. It must be fragile.

Tearing off the paper, he opened the lid to the box, revealing a glimmer of silver.

“What is it?”

“Open it and find out!”

He obliged, finding that the object was in fact a compass.

“This is really cool, T. Thank you!”

He pulled the cover open further, revealing an engraving.

_"May all paths always lead us to each other._

_Forever yours, Tina."_

She blushed as he read it out loud.

The piece had been engraved before they had broken up, and he would probably feel it was inappropriate now.

He pulled her roughly to his chest and pressed a lingering kiss to the top of her head.

“It’s the best gift I have ever gotten.”

She returned his grip with a firm one of her own.

Pulling away finally, he shuffled his feet.

“Guess I should get dinner started.”

…

Zeke returned, a domed silver tray in one hand, and a pair of champagne bottles in the other.

Nesting the bottles in a bucket of ice to chill, he presented the tray to Tina.

“Dinner is served!”

He removed the lid with a flourish to reveal a bountiful spread of tacos.

“Oh my god!” she laughed “You were totally serious about that!”

“Well I did promise ya tacos! Sorry we can’t do the touch tank tonight.”

She stretched out on her tiptoes brushing a kiss across his cheek.

“It looks amazing.”

They tucked in, depleting the pile in no time.

…

Jimmy drove towards the Belcher residence, trying to decide how he was going to approach it without being seen.

As it was already dark, he killed the headlights on his car, driving past the driveway slowly to scope out the house.

Finding only Tina’s car outside he felt satisfied that it was safe to proceed and pulled-off in a wooded area about a half mile away.

Picking his way slowly and carefully back towards the house a voice popped into his head.

_“You’re doing it again.”_

_“Doing what?”_

_“You know what. This is the same crap you pulled with Karen when SHE left you, and with Trev when he tried to.”_

_“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”_

_“You do this, Jim-bo. You obsess over what you can’t have.”_

_“I DO NOT!”_

He stomped his foot on the ground.

_“You can lie to everyone else, but you can’t lie to yourself.”_

_“SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! She loves me, you’ll see!”_

The voice didn’t respond.

Pleased with himself, feeling like he had won the argument, he pressed on, making his way towards the distant lights.

…

Tina lay on the living room floor, holding her stomach.

_Why on earth did she challenge Zeke to a taco eating contest?_

_He was like three times her size!_

_There was no way she could have won that one._

A cork popped in the kitchen, followed by Zeke cursing as the sound of champagne pattering on the kitchen floor could be heard.

He brought the bottle and two champagne flutes over to her.

“Ya may want to sit up if ya want some of this” he gestured to the bottle in his hand.

“Nope. Not going to happen.”

“Do you expect me to drink _all_ of this by myself?”

She turned to him, lifting an eyebrow mischievously.

“Got a silly straw?”

He broke out in a huge grin.

“As a matter of fact, I do!”

He sprinted to the kitchen, returning with an absurdly long silly straw.

“Oh my god I was totally kidding!” she laughed. “Where on earth did you get that ridiculous thing?”

“Gene of course!”

Inserting the straw down the neck of the bottle Zeke stretched out on the carpet next to Tina.

“Okay so we did dinner, drinks, what’s left for our date?”

“Oh, it’s a date, huh?”

“Hmm…I guess it’s not, unless…”

He pulled a remote out of his pocket and pointed it at the ceiling.

The lights dimmed out and a panel shifted to reveal a sizeable skylight.

Tina’s eyes grew wide.

“Where the hell did that come from?”

“It’s always been there. Motor was just broken, and it was _really_ well hidden _._ I didn’t even notice it until Teddy asked me if I had checked it out yet. I did some poking around, and after some tinkering, I was able to get ‘er working again.”

“Chef, handy man, is there anything you can’t do?”

“Hmm…” he pondered “I’ll have to get back to you on that one.”

They passed the silly straw between them, on the floor, admiring the twinkling star-filled sky that adorned their view that evening.

The bottle was quickly depleted, and Tina retrieved the second, making sure to tease Zeke with the fact that she didn’t spill any.

With the second bottle finished, they began to relax; their hands close enough that their fingers tentatively touched.

The barest of touches enough.

A loud _boom_ sounded as fireworks exploded, indicating the clock had struck midnight.

Tina and Zeke turned their heads towards each other, foreheads touching.

He ran his thumb gently along her jaw.

“Happy New Year, Tina.”

The softest of kisses graced her lips.

Zeke started to pull back when Tina grabbed his shirt, pulling him back, pressing her lips to his hungrily.

Hands ran down her back as he wrapped her legs around him.

Tina bit his lip, causing Zeke to release a deep groan.

Impatient, Tina straddled him, rolling her hips with her arousal.

Focused on each other they failed to notice the dark figure peering into the window.

…

Jimmy watched through the dark window as Tina rode Zeke, wearing only an oversized flannel shirt that surely didn’t belong to her, and a pair of sexy lace panties – his hands roaming up her legs to cup her ass.

He felt a stiffening in his own pants as he watched Zeke unbutton Tina’s shirt and run a hand up her stomach and between her breasts, slipping the shirt gently off her shoulders.

Jimmy pulled out his cell phone and began to record, rubbing his crotch as he spied.

_“This is really turning you on?!”_ the voice said, clearly disgusted.

Jimmy unzipped his pants and began to touch himself as he continued to watch.

Zeke rolled Tina onto her back, shimmying out of his pants and boxers before leaning over her, kissing his way down her neck, chest, stomach, settling between her legs; Tina’s back arching with pleasure.

Jimmy began to stroke himself faster, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood to keep from being heard.

_Watching Tina get fucked was hot enough, but who knew Zeke had such a nice ass?_

Jimmy felt himself begin to reach orgasm as he imagined roughly taking Zeke from behind as he went down on Tina, musing that he genuinely could have enjoyed a threesome with the two teens if Zeke wasn’t such an aggressive tool.

He ejaculated onto the side of the house and hung his head to catch his breath.

Zeke moved on top of Tina, pressing inside her.

Jimmy continued to fondle his flacid member, still worked up.

They moved slowly, taking their time, Tina digging her nails into Zeke’s back.

Just as Jimmy began to grow hard again, he heard a rustling coming from the tall grass nearby.

Unsure if it was a person or just a seagull, he dashed back towards the woods, determined to not get caught.

After reaching the safety of his car, he checked his phone, unsure if the video would even turn out since it had been so dark.

To his delight he was able to see everything clearly.

Allowing himself to watch the video once through he felt a tightness in his pants.

He supposed a visit to Trev was now in order

Jimmy unzipped his trousers to give himself a second release, when the passenger door suddenly opened, and a familiar figure slipped into the seat.

“What the fuck are _you_ doing here?”

“I could ask you the same,” the intruder said, gesturing to his still exposed erection.

He struggled to stuff himself back into his pants, and after a few failed attempts, he gave up, figuring it was a little late for modesty.

“I’m gonna ask you again. What. The Fuck. Are. You. Doing. Here.”

“I saw you Jim-bo.”

“You don’t know what you saw. It’s your word against mine. And who’s going to believe _you_?” he smirked.

“I saw _everything_.”

They pulled a phone out of their pocket and pressed play on the video that had already been loaded.

Jimmy could clearly be seen peering into the window of the Belcher guest house, filming two figures inside while furiously masturbating.

“Fuck.”

…

Zeke paused and rolled off her.

“Is everything all right?”

He sighed, knowing he was really going to regret what he was about to say next.

“I don’t think we should do this.”

Tina frowned. “Why not?”

“Because you’re drunk is why.”

“I’m not that drunk” she retorted “and besides, I wanted you even before we started drinking.”

He fidgeted.

“It’s not just that. It’s…”

“What?”

“It’s just that you and Jimmy _just_ broke up. And last time this happened you went and blew off steam with Logan. You didn’t care about him; you were just using him as a rebound.”

Her lip trembled.

Zeke reached for her, drawing her close.

“I just don’t want that to be that for you.”

“You don’t want me?”

He gave her a squeeze.

“Oh, I definitely want ya. Pretty sure that’s obvious. I just don’t want to be the one you rebound with. If we’re together I want it to be because you want _me_ , not just my cock.”

“I _do_ want you Zeke.”

She began to cry. “How can I show you that I want to be with just you?”

Zeke wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“We need to be friends first before we can be more again. I need us to start back at the beginning. Do you get where I’m coming from?”

“I don’t like it, but I understand.”

Zeke rubbed her back.

“I knew you would.”

“So do your rules have anything against any just-friends naked cuddling?”

He laughed, “I suppose I could make an exception for the holiday.”

“What about just-friends making out?”

“Tina…”

“I’m kidding!”

They moved to the bedroom, slipping into bed, and after a quick debate, decided that Zeke would be the big spoon.

Drifting off to sleep, each of them wondered how long they could go on just being friends.

…

Tina awoke the next morning with Zeke’s arm draped over her, a large hand grasped on her hip possessively.

She snuggled back against his chest, sighing contentedly.

“You know we have to get up _eventually_ , right?”

“Give me one good reason.”

“I’m supposed to pick you up from the bus station in a few hours.”

“Oh that.”

She rolled over tucking her head under his chin.

“Can’t we just say my flight was late?”

“Don’t be difficult.”

“Fine. On one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“Naked friend cuddling becomes a permanent tradition.”

“I _guess_ I can agree to that.”

“Good.”

Pressing close to him one last time, she reluctantly shifted off the bed heading towards the bathroom to ready herself for the inquisition.

…

“Look who I found wandering around the bus station!” Zeke announced into the restaurant kitchen.

Louise popped her head out.  
  


  
“A hobo? Oh. It’s just Tina.” She said, mocking disappointment.

Linda ran out, squeezing Tina into a suffocating hug.

“Aww! My Teeny Tina’s home! How was Greece? Did you bring the wine?”

Tina wiggled out of her mother’s vice-like grip.

“Greece was fine mom, and there is a whole case of wine for you in the trunk.”

“Alriiight!”

Tina maneuvered around her mother to wrap her arms around her father.

“Missed you Dad.”

“Missed you too Tina.”

He held onto her for a few moments, savoring this rare moment of affection from his eldest.

Bob finally withdrew.

“So, uh, I know this might be kind of weird, but Zeke has been staying in the guest house while you were gone. I know you guys aren’t dating any more, but is there any way you could look the other way on it for a few more days until he goes back to school? We can figure out somewhere else for him the next time he comes back.”

“It’s okay dad. Zeke and I talked on the way here. We’re okay”

Bob’s eyebrows raised in hopeful excitement.

“You _okay_? Does that mean you’re back together?”

She turned her head towards Zeke and smiled.

“No dad, we’re just friends, but we’re okay.”

“That’s a relief.”

Tina knew her father was still disappointed.

_She felt bad knowing how much Bob cared for the young man, and would that she could fix everything so easily. But Zeke wanted to wait, so wait she would._

“Bobby, Tina needs to head home and unpack. I bet she’d also like a shower and a nap after her long trip too.”

“Fine.” Bob turned back to Tina. “You’ll be good for your shift tonight?”

_“Bob!”_

“Fine Lin, just fine. I won’t have a daughter, _or_ a grill cook tonight.”

_Bob just wanted to spend some time with her._

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch. She’s just going home. You’ll see her tonight.”

“Zeke, sweetie, could you put Tina to bed and make her something to eat?”

“Sure thing Mama B.”

…

Not needing another shower or nap so soon, Tina opted to use her free day to catch up on her laundry, Zeke of course taking advantage by sneaking his own clothes into the wash.

She held up a lacy pair of panties.

“Yours or mine.”

He reached for them, feigning an inspection.

“Hmm…I think these might be mine. I’ll just put these in my bag…”

Tina made a grab for them, but missed, Zeke holding them just out of reach.

“Those are mine!”

“Nu-uh. Finders keepers. Call it payback for my favorite shirt.”

He nodded at the flannel she had put back on upon their return.

“This one’s your favorite?”

“Well yeah, ‘cause you’re in it.”

She rolled her eyes and threw a pair of balled up socks at him.

“Thanks T, I was looking for those.”

Their banter continued smoothly, the two easing into a comfortable groove.

…

Later that evening Zeke stood in front of the vanity, fresh out of the shower, carefully combing his wavy hair into place.

Tina popped her head into the bedroom, noticing that he was dressed a little nicer than his typical t-shirts and jeans.

“You’re awfully dressed up. Going somewhere?”

“Yep. Going to a party over in Bog Harbor.”

“Ooh! I can be ready in like 30 minutes. Less if I skip the shower.”

She made a dash to her closet and began rifling through her now clean clothes.

“I mean you can come if you want, but uh…I sort of have a date.”

“A date?” she asked, the displeasure clear in her voice.

“Yeah, she’s this girl I met at a party over at J ju’s on Christmas.”

“Oh. Do I know her?”

“Probably not. She goes to school over in Bog Harbor. Her name’s Dillon.”

“Dillon…that sounds familiar. Do you have a picture of her?”

Tina’s interest in seeing her was half to figure out if she _did_ know her, and the other half was to scope out the competition.

Zeke pulled out his phone and flipped through the photos Dillon had texted him over the last week.

Selecting one that wasn’t highly inappropriate he turned the phone around to show her.

Tina peered at the image for a moment.

“Actually, I think I _do_ know her.”

Zeke’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

“You do?”

“Yeah, she and I shared a hotel room when we went to meet that lady astronaut back in middle school.”

She handed Zeke back his phone.

“From what I remember, she’s really nice. I hope you two are really happy together.”

She began walking back towards the living room, not wanting him to see the tears that were starting to form.

Suddenly she felt his strong arms wrap around her from behind, halting her escape.

“Come on T-bird, being a drama queen doesn’t suit you.”

She struggled in his grasp.

“I am not a drama queen! I just said I was happy for you!”

He turned her towards him, wiping the budding tears from her eyes.

“It’s just a date, Tina. We’re not getting married, we’re not even together. We’re just going on a date.”

He tilted her chin up.

“Can you handle that? Because if you can’t, I’ll call her right now and cancel again.”

“Again?”

“I was supposed to go out with her last night for New Year’s. I rescheduled so I could spend it with you.”

“Why would you do that?”

He leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers.

“You know why.”

She wrapped her arms around him, savoring the warmth of his body pressed against hers.

Too soon he pulled away.

“Hate to cut this short, but I gotta finish getting ready, T.”

“Fine.” She pouted, resuming her journey to the living room.

Zeke’s eyes roamed over her backside as she left, clad only in a pair of those damn cheeky panties she knew he liked.

_How was he supposed to think straight when she kept walking around half naked?!_

“And put some damn clothes on, woman!”

“You know you love it.”

_Dammit, he did._

…

Zeke returned from his date just after midnight.

They had a few drinks, they danced, and then they had hooked up in the backseat of Dillon’s car, after her suggestion to use his was shot down.

_No way was he going to fuck another girl in Tina’s car._

He peeked his head into the bedroom, hoping not to wake Tina, but found her bed empty.

_Where the hell could she have gone?_

He found a note on the bed addressed to him.

_Z-_

_Went out, don’t wait up._

_-T_

The note raised more questions than it answered.

He quickly showered and slipped into bed.

About an hour after he had finally dozed off he heard some whispering coming from the living room.

_“Ssshhh you’ll wake up my roommate.”_

_“Who? That Zeke guy? Pft. I can take him.”_

_“Oh no you won’t mister. Now shut up. You’re killing the mood.”_

Zeke stood; ear pressed to the door.

_Killing the mood? Just what was going on out there?_

He went to open the door to confront them but stopped himself.

_Hadn’t he just fucked some other girl tonight? How could he justify keeping her from doing the same? She WAS single after all._

Running his hands through his hair he began to pace the room.

He _should_ just get back into bed and go to sleep.

A moan sounded from beyond the door.

_Goddammit. How was he supposed to sleep when he could hear THAT?!_

His pacing increased in speed.

_Maybe it would help if he DID peek._

_Just to make sure it wasn’t Pesto out there._

_Yeah, that’s it. One peek to make sure._

He carefully opened the door, as to not alert the couple to his presence.

He spotted Tina, straddling a man on the couch, bouncing eagerly on his hard cock, the man’s hands gripping hard onto her hips.

Just as he was about to shut the door, she turned her head, and held his gaze as she continued to fuck him.

Zeke felt himself unable to move. Unable to look away.

It was like a horrible train wreck.

A train wreck with amazing tits and a fantastic ass.

…

Tina had waited a moment after hearing the bedroom door open before turning to let him know she knew he was there.

_Took him long enough._

When she had gone to a party locally that evening, she had been on a mission.

If Zeke was going to date other women, so would she.

Or men, rather.

Girls weren’t her thing.

Not for Tammy and Jocelyn’s lack of trying though.

When she spotted Logan in the corner sipping on a beer she grinned.

_Perfect._

She sauntered over to him, and after a short bit of flirting, he was all over her, quickly agreeing to come back to her place for a hook-up.

As Tina led him into the guesthouse, she had made sure to be loud enough to wake Zeke up.

Her keen ears picked up the sound of his pacing as she let Logan go down on her, loudly exaggerating her moans, which Logan, narcissist that he was, never picked up on.

Quickly getting him out of his clothes, she sat him on the couch, and straddled him.

Now Zeke was watching. And she wanted him to _know_ that she knew he was there.

_This was going to drive him nuts._

She sped up her movements, increasing the volume of her moans.

“Yes! Logan! Fuck me!”

_That was sure to piss him off._

She heard the door close.

_Shit. She had pushed her luck._

She moved to get off Logan.

“Hey! I didn’t finish!”

Tina tossed him a box of tissues from the side table.

“Finish yourself off. I’m suddenly not in the mood.”

She headed towards the bathroom to scrub herself raw. She felt sick.

“And you can see yourself out when you’re done.”

…

After she had scoured the memory of Logan’s hands, mouth, and other appendages off her body, she slipped back into the bedroom, walking face first into Zeke, who was standing just beyond the door, arms crossed across his chest.

Startled, she dropped her towel.

She leaned down as if to pick it up, then stopped herself.

_If he couldn’t handle seeing her naked, that was HIS problem, not hers._

“You didn’t have to send him home early on my account. Hell, if you had let me know you were gonna have company, I would have let you have the bed.”

Tina moved past him, and Zeke’s arm snaked out, grabbing her wrist.

“Let go! You’re hurting me!” she tugged at his grip.

He quickly released his hold on her, having not realized he was squeezing her so tightly.

“What the fuck is your problem, Zeke?”

“What’s my problem?! What’s _my_ problem?! What’s _YOUR_ problem? You were just fucking Logan in our living room!”

“And?”

“What you mean _AND_? Why would you think that was okay to bring another guy home and fuck him? And Logan of all people!”

She stood in front of him defiantly, her fists clenched.

“Why do you even care? You were out on a date with someone else tonight too. And I bet you _fucked_ her, didn’t you?”

Zeke’s face reddened, betraying him before he could try and deny it.

“You did. And how is that any different than what I just did?”

“Because it is! You were just doing it to make me jealous!”

She scoffed. “So? Did you ever stop and think that maybe I did it because you were making me jealous too?”

_He hadn’t considered that._

“You were?”

Her fisted loosened.

“Yes, Zeke. It was driving me crazy thinking about you out there with her. All I could do was try and do the same.”

They were silent for a moment, and Tina suddenly felt self-conscious about her nudity, moving her hands to cover herself.

Zeke sighed. “I guess we both have some work to do on learning how to be friends, don’t we?”

“Yeah, maybe.”

He reached out for her, then pulled his hand back.

“Why don’t you put something on, and we’ll get some sleep. I think we could both use it.”

She nodded in agreement.

They slept back to back that night, neither trusting themselves facing the other.

It would be too easy to give in.

No matter how much they wanted it.

…

The next afternoon it was time for Zeke to return to campus.

Linda, in her usual fashion was all tears.

“My bonus baby is leaving me again!”

“I’ll be back before ya know it Mama B. I promise I won’t stay away so long.”

The last bit was more for Tina’s benefit than Linda’s.

Bob shook Zeke’s hand before wrapping him in a bear hug that Gene mimicked next.

Louise offered her fist for a quick bump.

“You behave yourself Baby Belcher.”

Louise rolled her eyes. “Not a chance.”

Zeke turned to Tina, both a little awkward with the entire family standing around.

“I’ll uh, I’ll send you a text when I get back to the dorms.”

“Alright.”

They hugged briefly and pulled apart.

Zeke watched her from the window of his bus seat as it pulled out from the station.

_Being just friends was the right thing, wasn’t it?_

His phone lit up with a text.

_Skype me when you get back. -T_

He grinned.

_Maybe, just maybe they could do this._


	14. Dancing with myself

A few days after Zeke left to go back to campus it was time for classes to resume at Huxley High.

Tina sat in the academic counselor’s office, watching as the woman, who quite frankly looked like a hippie throwback, sifted through her records and grades.

“Well, Tina, it looks like you have a very good chance of getting into Columbia. Have you thought of some backups just in case?”

Tina chewed her lip for a moment, considering.

“Well if I didn’t get in, I guess my next two choices would be Brown or Northwestern.”

The counselor nodded.

“All _very_ good choices if you think you want to be a writer.”

“I do.”

The older woman did one last skip of the courses Tina had taken.

“Everything seems in order here, the only thing I would suggest is to diversify your course load a bit.”

“How so?”

“Well, what you would think is that if you plan on being a writer, you would want to focus primarily on literature, English, and creative writing classes, as you have done, correct?”

“Yes…” Tina said hesitatingly.

“What colleges _really_ like to see is a well-rounded curriculum. So, this semester, my suggestion to you is to try out another fine art course instead of taking creative writing again.”

“Oh. I guess that sounds okay. I don’t really have any experience with other art classes, what would you recommend?”

The counselor picked up a course leaflet off her desk and skimmed to the fine arts offerings.

“Hmm…how would you feel about painting? It should fit into your open period.”

“Okay, I’ll try it.”

“Excellent!” she tapped away on her computer for a moment. “Alright, you are set young lady! You have your first painting class in…Oh! About 5 minutes! It’s on the other end of campus, so I suggest you hurry.”

Tina thanked her and made a mad dash, hoping to not be late on her first day.

…

Tina slipped through the door and slid onto an open stool just as the bell rang.

_Just made it._

“Hey Tina, what are you doing here?”

She looked towards the sound of the voice.

“Jordan? What are _you_ doing here?”

He laughed. “I’ve been taking art classes for years since I got busted for all that graffiti.”

“Oh yeah, the ghost boy thing.”

“That’s right. Well they gave me the option of channeling my “artist tendencies”,” he said, making air quotes “or getting some time in juvenile detention, so I figured I would give this a shot. Turns out I have a knack for it.”

“I’m glad you’re doing so well with it.”

He gave her a pointed look.

“But what are _you_ doing here? Aren’t you usually in writing classes?”

“Normally, yes, but the academic counselor recommended that I take a different fine art class this semester to appear more rounded on my applications.”

“Yeah I can see that. Well, welcome to figure painting. If you like painting naked people, you’ll like this class.”

Tina blushed.

“Hey, you’re kinda cute when you get embarrassed. Any chance you might want to go on a date sometime?”

“Oh. Maybe? I sort of just got out of a relationship, and I don’t know that I’m quite ready to date again yet.”

_She also wasn’t interested in having him nearly swallow her entire face either._

“Hey, no problem! I totally get it. I was like that when Chloe and I broke up after like 2 years. If you ever need someone to talk to about it, I’m your guy!”

“Thanks Jordan, I appreciate that.”

Suddenly a small wrinkled face jutted between them.

“Cagan! Try and get laid on your own time! We’re here to make art!”

Jordan turned around, thoroughly embarrassed.

“Edith?” Tina asked, recognizing the wrinkled old woman.

“In this class you will address me as Mrs. Cranwinkle, is that clear?”

“Yes ma’am”

“Good girl.”

She patted Tina affectionately on the shoulder.

For the next hour Edith went over the syllabus and gave a list of supplies they would need to have by next week.

Skimming the list, Tina realized she would have to make a trip out of town to get most of these items, as _Reflections_ had shut down after her husband Harold had passed away a few years back. Running the store became a bit much for the older woman to do on her own, so after closing the shop, she had taken up an open position in Huxley’s art department.

Despite her gruff persona, she was generally well liked by the student body, and her regular students routinely produced fantastic artworks under her tutelage.

Later that evening Tina lay on her stomach on her bed, her laptop open in front of her.

She selected Zeke’s name on her Skype contact list and hit call.

It connected almost immediately, and the screen was filled with Zeke’s smiling face.

“Hey T-bird! How was yer first day back?”

“It was…interesting.”

“Interesting, huh?”

“Yep. First the counselor recommended I take painting instead of creative writing again this semester.”

“That’s…different.”

“Mmm hmm…and then I was almost late because she the class she signed me up for was the next period. And you’ll never guess who was there when I got there.”

“Who?”

“Jordan Cagan.”

“Ghost boy? Thought he went to juvie.”

“Apparently not. They gave him the option of taking art classes instead, and he stuck with it.”

“Well that’s cool that he turned himself around.”

“Yep. He also kinda sorta…asked me out.”

Zeke was quiet for a moment.

“Are ya gonna go with him?”

Tina belted out in a fit of laughter.

“Me? Date Jordan again? You have got to be kidding me! He was the absolute worst kisser in the world! Tried to basically swallow my face whole!”

Zeke was grateful his computer was on a desk so Tina couldn’t see his fist clench at the mention of another guy kissing her.

_He was NOT supposed to be coming off as a jealous boyfriend. They were JUST friends._

“And _Edith_ is the teacher! Isn’t that crazy?”

“Oh. Um yeah, that’s crazy.”

Tina sat up on her knees.

“Zeke is everything okay? You seem a little upset.”

_She could always read him like a book._

“Naw, I’m okay. Just a little tired is all.”

“Do you want me to let you go so you can get some sleep?”

_Ending their call was really the last thing he had wanted to do, but he needed to stick to his half-truth now._

“Yeah, I should probably get some sleep. Mind if I call you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? But our next call day isn’t until Friday.”

“I know, I just…I like hearing your voice, okay?”

She winked at him. “Okay. You get some sleep and I’ll talk to you after school. Say…5 o’clock?”

“Sounds good. Goodnight, T.”

“Goodnight, Z.”

She blew him a kiss as she shut down her end of the chat screen.

His heart fluttered.

_She always knew how to get to him._

…

Things continued like that for a while, with both of them becoming more comfortable with their friendship status, although Tina was secretly _very_ jealous of Dillon still. She kept that bit to herself though.

Without the distractions of a relationship, Tina discovered she actually had a knack for painting, and with very little effort, was able to get her parents to purchase a used easel and some quality paints so she could continue her new-found talent at home when she wasn’t picking up shifts at the restaurant.

Soon it was an uncharacteristically warm Valentine’s Day, and Tina, who was strangely not asked to the school dance decided to opt out of going stag and unwind with some quality time with her two current love interests…canvas and paint.

…

Zeke could hear music coming through the open windows of the guest house as he carefully mounted the stairs, holding a finger to his lips to indicate to the young man with him to be quiet.

_Now won't you run and tell your boyfriend  
Tell him don't hold his breath for me  
I got some money I was savin'  
Got some hearts that I'll be breakin'  
Know someday they'll make a martyr out of me  
I know someday they'll make a martyr out of me_

A goofy grin spread wide on his face. Apparently, she enjoyed the mix CD he had sent her a few weeks ago.

He hadn’t told Tina he was coming home for a visit this weekend, wanting to surprise her. He had brought along a friend from class who was generous enough to provide transportation in exchange for an invite to join them for the weekend, which Zeke was all too happy to oblige.

He carefully opened the door, silently slipping in, and gesturing for Miles to do the same.

Peering into the living room he spotted Tina in front of a canvas she was in the process of painting, dancing to the music blaring from the stereo that was typically in the bedroom, lip-syncing into the end of a thick paint brush as if it was a microphone.

_Man was she going to be embarrassed when she found out he saw this…_

And then he noticed the tiny cut-offs she was wearing. So short that they may have been a pair of Louise’s. Paired with it, she was in a tank top, also cropped.

_She sure knew how to show off her best assets._

_I like to watch the way the wind blows  
What does it know that I don't yet?  
Oh oh, look so pretty now, you're just so sweet  
But see how far you can get  
See just how far you can get_

She dipped and did a sexy hip movement that resembled the sensual slow dancing that J ju used to do, but instead of looking ridiculous, she looked damn sexy.

Behind him, Miles whispered, “Damn, dude, you never told me how fucking hot she was.”

Suddenly not wanting Miles to ogle her anymore, he loudly dropped the duffle he had been holding in his hand, causing her to jump in surprise.

Tina turned around, then dropped her paintbrush, rushing towards Zeke and jumping to throw her arms around his neck and wrap her legs around his waist, clinging to him as he held her up.

“Zeke! You didn’t tell me you were coming home! What are you doing here?”

“Happy to see you too,” he teased.

“Well whatever the reason, I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too.”

“Oh! And Happy Valentine’s Day!”

She brushed a soft kiss over his stubbled cheek.

“Right back at ya.”

She slid back down to the floor, suddenly noticing they weren’t alone; a tall, lean young man, who looked like he belonged more on the cover of a modeling magazine, stood behind Zeke, carrying an overnight bag of his own.  
  
  
“So, uh…who’s your friend?” she asked.  
  
  
Keeping an almost possessive arm around her shoulder, he brought her to the mysterious stranger.  
  
  
“Tina, this is one of my buddies from school, Miles Davis.”  
  
  
She took his extended hand, getting a better look at him.  
  
  
He had sandy blonde hair that might have looked mousy on another person, but accented his bronzed complexion very nicely.  
  


  
His jaw was chiseled, as if from marble, like a statue of a Greek god, and when he flashed her a toothy grin, she felt a little weak in the knees.  
  
  
 _Holy crap this man was gorgeous!  
  
  
_ “Pleasure to meet you, Tina, I’ve heard so much about you!” he murmured. “Zeke never told me how gorgeous you were.”  
  
  
He caressed a thumb over Tina’s captured hand, causing her to shiver and blush slightly; an act that didn’t go unnoticed by Zeke, who shot his friend a warning glance, that was summarily ignored.  
  
  
“So Miles Davis…like the trumpeter?”  
  
  
He threw his head back in a silken laugh.  
  
  
“My parents were jazz cats. Plus, it makes for a great conversation starter!”  
  
  
She gently pulled her hand back.  
  
  
 _This guy was smooth. Almost too smooth._  
  
  
She turned back to Zeke.  
  
  
“What’s the occasion for the surprise visit?”  
  
  
Zeke reddened slightly and rubbed the back of his neck.  
  
  
“I…uh…have a date with Dillon.”  
  
  
“Oh.” Tina looked down, disappointed.  
  
  
She knew they were seeing each other casually but had rather hoped his impromptu holiday had been to see her.  
  
  
Her disappointment did not go unnoticed, and Zeke felt a wave of guilt.

_He knew their friendship had been going well since they started talking again a little over a month ago, but he didn’t think she still had feelings for him…at least **those** kinds of feelings, despite how physical they had briefly gotten._

  
He shook the guilt away.  
  
  
 _He had to have imagined it._

_She must not have gotten asked to the Huxley High Valentine’s Day dance, which honestly surprised him, so maybe she had hoped he would take her?_  
  
  
“I brought Miles here with me because he didn’t have any Valentine’s Day plans, and didn’t want to be stuck in the dorms alone.”  
  
  
He knew he would regret this next bit.  
  
  
“Maybe he could hang with you? You could take him to the dance tonight.”  
  
  
She glanced over at Miles, who gave her a strangely effective smoldering and pleading look.  
  
  
“I would be delighted to escort you to the dance this evening.”  
  
  
She nodded, accepting his offer.  
  
  
“Well, I guess I’d better go get ready.”  
  
  
 _Maybe she could make Zeke jealous again, and he’d realize he wanted to be with her instead of stupid smelly Dillon._

_She regretted that last thought almost immediately, knowing her bitterness was not deserved by the sweet purple-haired girl. She made Zeke happy, and no matter how she felt about him, wasn’t it Zeke’s happiness that mattered most?_

_She’d do her best to give this new guy a chance. Who knows, maybe they’d hit it off._  
  
  
Zeke slipped over to the main house to introduce Miles to the family, and to usurp Gene’s room for them to dress for their respective dates, Miles for Huxley High, and Zeke for Bosley High.  
  
  
Gene lounged back on his bed, catching Zeke up on the antics he had missed the last month and a half, while the larger boy slicked back his hair and adjusted his tie.  
  
  
The door to Gene’s bathroom opened, a blast of steam escaping as Miles exited, a towel draped loosely around his hips.  
  
  
Gene tried really hard not to stare at the man’s defined chest and pelvis, shifting to hide his arousal.  
  
  
Miles slipped his towel from his hips revealing a flaccid, but still quite large member, which Gene tried and failed to stare at.  
  
  
Miles caught his eye and winked cheekily, resulting in Gene blushing furiously at his brazenness.  
  
  
 _This was his sister’s date, and all he could think about was getting his mouth around that huge, thick…_  
  
  
“Gene-a-sabi! Hey Gene!”  
  
  
“Huh?”  
  
  
“I asked if you were going to the dance too.”  
  
  
“Oh…nah. Darryl asked if I could cover his shift at the restaurant so he could go with Rosa.”  
  
  
“They’re still together, huh?”  
  
  
“Yeah, they’re even talking about getting married after they graduate from MIT.”  
  
  
“Darrell got early acceptance?”  
  
  
“Sure did! Found out a few weeks ago. Full-ride scholarship and everything. Didn’t Tina tell you?”  
  
  
“Must have slipped her mind.”  
  
  
Gene laughed. “Yeah, that one always has a lot on her mind. She’s been wrapped up writing her own admission essays lately, so she must have forgotten.”  
  
  
“Where is she thinking about going?” Miles interrupted, now clad in a pair of slacks, and a half-buttoned dress shirt.  
  
  
“Well I know she has applied to Brown and Northwestern, but she’s really hoping for Columbia.”  
  
  
 _Zeke hoped for Columbia too. Northwestern had the best creative writing program in the country, but Columbia meant she would still be close enough to see her semi-regularly._

“If she’s half as good at writing as Zeke says she is, I bet she’s a shoo-in for Northwestern. My family lives out in that area, maybe she and I could see each other more often.”  
  
  
 _Now Zeke **really** hoped she didn’t get accepted to Northwestern.  
_  
  
Gene’s phone lit up with a text.  
  
  
“Tina said she’s ready.”  
  
  
Miles snapped on a pair of cufflinks and straightened his tie.  
  
  
“Let’s go see how good she cleans up.”  
  
  
Zeke glowered behind his back as they headed back to the guest house, the slight on her appearance noted. Miles often dated beautiful women, but he always seemed to demean them, if not ever so slightly, no matter how pretty they were.  
  


  
_Yep. He was definitely regretting bringing Miles here._

…

  
“Tina! You ready?”  
  
  
“Almost!” she called from the bedroom, before stepping out.  
  
  
Zeke’s jaw dropped at the sight of her.  
  
  
Tina had recreated the look from her dinner with Jimmy in Greece, sans Jimmy’s necklace, to draw more attention to the low cut of the dress. A look she knew was much sexier than typical for a high school dance.  
  
  
She caught his eyes roaming over the curves that the tight dress accentuated.   
  
  
_“Eat your heart out, Zeke” she thought, accepting Miles’ outstretched arm._  
  
  
“Well, we’re off! Have fun at _your_ dance Zeke” Miles winked over his shoulder as they left “and don’t wait up.”  
  
  
 _Motherfucker._


End file.
